AstraZeneca heartened by US Brilinta approval

21st Jul 2011 07:07

AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceuticals company, has won approval for its drug Brilinta in the United States.Brilinta reduces the rate of heart attack and cardiovascular death in adult patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) more effectively than its rival treatment Clopidogre, recent studies indicate.The approval by the US Food and Drug Administration will be welcome news for AstraZeneca which has so far seen disappointing sales of the drug in Europe.Nomura points out that, despite receiving EU approval in December 2010, Brilinta has made "only limited headway" with first quarter sales of $1m in a $3bn EU market".According to the American Heart Association, over one million Americans are hospitalised with ACS every year. It is estimated that up to one in three patients could have a recurrent heart attack, or die within one year following the attack, Brilinta ought to be able to reduce those numbers:"With over one million people affected by ACS in the US each year, the fact that physicians have a new and more effective treatment option than Clopidogrel to help reduce the rate of heart attack and cardiovascular death in these patients is an important advance," David Brennan, chief executive officer of AstraZeneca said.