Heart Drugs News: October 2006 Archives

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc's experimental stroke drug NXY-059 failed to meet its goal in a pivotal Phase III clinical trial, dealing a fresh blow to the group's already depleted new product pipeline.

The medicine will now be dropped from development, the company said on Thursday, overshadowing what analysts expect to be a strong set of third-quarter results due at 1000 GMT and sending its shares down around 3.5 percent in early trade.

The so-called SAINT II study was designed to show a reduction in disability in patients following an acute ischemic stroke. In the event there was no statistically significant difference among patients given either NXY-059 or placebo.

by the Asbury Park Press on 10/8/06

In an analysis of hospital performance measures for heart patients, Gannett News Service included seven heart attack treatment measures and three measures for heart failure patients. All are recommended treatments known to provide the best results for most people with these medical problems, and the percentages are calculated only for those patients who are good candidates for the treatments.

The heart attack measures were the percentages of patients who were given:

PHILADELPHIA -- A New Jersey judge has dismissed 50 Vioxx-related lawsuits against Merck & Co. filed in state court by British citizens, saying the cases should be heard in Britain.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A significant percentage of patients stop taking medications prescribed after a heart attack, despite the fact that these drugs increase their chances of survival, investigators report. They call for a better system for patient follow-up to prevent unnecessary deaths related to non-usage of these drugs.

Dr. P. Michael Ho at Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Colorado, and colleagues conducted a review of 1521 patients enrolled in the Prospective Registry Evaluating Myocardial Infarction: Event and Recovery (PREMIER) study.