ESSENCE Study Finds Lovenox Beats Heparin

Results of an international clinical trial involving over 3,000 patients have revealed that Rhone-Poulenc Rorer's low-molecular weight heparin product Lovenox/Clexane (enoxaparin) is superior to standard heparin in the treatment of patients with unstable angina and non-Q-wave myocardial infarction. The results were presented at the 69th annual American Heart Association meeting held in New Orleans, USA, earlier this month.

The trial, called ESSENCE (Efficacy and Safety of Subcutaneous Enoxaparin in Non-Q-Wave Coronary Events) revealed that treatment with enoxaparin significantly reduced the 14-day combined endpoint of death, myocardial infarction and recurrent angina in these patients compared to intravenous unfractionated heparin. Both treatment groups also received aspirin maintenance.

15% Reduction In Risk At One Month Data presented at the AHA showed that after 14 days, 19.8% of all patients in the heparin arm of the study experienced one of the three primary study endpoints measured in the trial (myocardial infarction, recurring chest pain and death), compared to only 16.6% of the patients in the enoxaparin group. This corresponds to a relative reduction in risk of 16% (p=0.019). At 30-days, this advantage was sustained with a 15% relative reduction for the enoxaparin group (23.3% versus 19.8%; p=0.017).