Boehringer's anti-clotting drug Pradaxa added to ACC recommendations for treating irregular heartbeat

The recently-approved drug dabigatran is recommended as an alternative to warfarin to help prevent dangerous blood clots in patients with atrial fibrillation, according to updated guidelines from the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association and the Heart Rhythm Society.

The drug in question comes from independent German major Boehringer Ingelheim, which last fall gained US Food and Drug Administration for its Pradaxa brand for the prevention of stroke and blood clots in patients with abnormal heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation) beating other companies to be the first cleared as an alternative to warfarin, and so compete in a market sector that has been estimated could reach $12-$15 billion a year (The Pharma Letter October 20, 2010). The ACC recommendation will clearly benefit Pradaxa’s prospects.

The "Focused Update" - published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, Journal of the American College of Cardiology and HeartRhythm Journal - specifically updates the section on emerging antithrombotic agents in atrial fibrillation treatment guidelines released by the three organizations on December 20, 2010.