FDA announces new boxed warning on Plavix (USA)

"The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has added a boxed warning to the anti-blood clotting drug Plavix (clopidogrel), alerting patients and health care professionals that the drug can be less effective in people who cannot metabolize the drug to convert it to its active form. Plavix reduces the risk of heart attack, unstable angina, stroke, and cardiovascular death in patients with cardiovascular disease by making platelets less likely to form blood clots. Plavix does not have its anti-platelet effects until it is metabolized into its active form by the liver enzyme, CYP2C19."

Antacids taken with heart drugs increase risk of another attack (Canada)

"A drug combination prescribed to thousands of heart attack survivors increases the risk of a repeat heart attack, Canadian researchers are warning. In a major study spanning nearly six years, Toronto researchers who followed more than 13,000 patients found those given the blood thinner Plavix in combination with certain acid suppressants are 40 per cent more likely to have another heart attack in the first three months after leaving hospital. 'There are so many people at potential risk here it’s difficult to understate the importance of the findings,' says Dr. David Juurlink, head of the division of clinical pharmacology and toxicology at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, and lead author of the study released Wednesday by the Canadian Medical Association Journal"

Test detects patients who don't respond to Plavix (USA)

"Scripps Health hospital system has begun using a saliva-based genetic test to detect whether patients will respond to Plavix, a widely used blood thinner that usually prevents clots. But recent studies show about one-third of people of European descent, and more than 40 percent of people of African and Asian descent don't properly respond to Plavix, putting them at increased risk of fatal blood clots. The new laboratory test from Quest Diagnostics detects four genetic mutations found in more than 90 percent of patients who won't benefit from the drug, which is marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis. While older tests were capable of picking up the mutations, Quest says its test is the first designed for routine use and quick processing" - WCAX

AstraZeneca shares jump on blood-thinner drug study

"Shares of AstraZeneca PLC rose over 5% on Monday after the Anglo-Swedish company said a key study showed its new blood-thinner Brilinta helped prevent stroke and heart attack better than the industry leader Plavix in certain cardiac patients. Shares of AstraZeneca (AZN) had jumped 6% to $38.19 by midday. The Phase III clinical trial tested Brilinta against Plavix in 18,624 patients with acute coronary syndrome, or ACS, in 43 countries. The study was led by a professor at Sweden's Uppsala Clinical Research Center and by one at Duke Clinical Research Institute. ACS is a condition whereby the heart muscle isn't receiving enough blood, generally due to some sort of blockage in the coronary arteries. The syndrome is associated with chest pain" - Market Watch

Plavix, heartburn drugs may be risky combination

"Anyone who takes the clot-preventing drug Plavix after receiving a stent in a coronary artery-opening procedure should avoid popular heartburn medications called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), if possible, a group of heart experts now say. PPIs include blockbuster acid reflux medications such as Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec. The problem, according to experts at the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI), is that the combination of Plavix and a PPI increases the user's risk of heart attack, stroke and other cardiovascular problems." - HealthDay