Data analysis shows Eliquis leads to fewer strokes than warfarin

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Pfizer Inc. have announced findings from a real-world data analysis of the U.S. Medicare database that compares the risk of stroke or systemic embolism and the rate of major bleeding among patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation who were treated with direct oral anticoagulants vs. warfarin.
The analysis was titled “Effectiveness and Safety of Apixaban, Dabigatran, and Rivaroxaban Compared to Warfarin among Non-Valvular Atrial Fibrillation Patients in the U.S. Medicare Population.” The analysis showed that the companies’ Eliquis drug led to lower risk of stroke or embolism, as well as lower risk of major bleeding, than warfarin.
“Studies such as this large U.S. Medicare database analysis supplement pivotal trials by broadening and deepening our scientific knowledge of how patients respond to direct oral anticoagulants in everyday clinical practice,” Dr. Alpesh Amin, principal investigator and professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine, said in a statement. “Given the diversity of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation, analyses of real-world data provide further information that adds to data generated in randomized clinical trials.”
The companies will showcase the data at the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC) 66th Annual Scientific Session in Washington, D.C.