German IQWiG finds mixed added benefits for Eliquis

In an early benefit assessment under the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined the clot-inhibiting drug Eliquis (apixaban) from USA-based Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY), finding proof of minor added benefit for adult patients who had undergone hip replacement: symptomatic clots in the deep veins of the leg occurred less frequently with apixaban treatment than with the comparator therapy.

Eliquis was approved in the European Union last year for the prevention of thrombosis (blood clots) after operations to replace a hip or knee joint (The Pharma Letter May 23, 2011).

Symptomatic clots in the deep leg veins also occurred less frequently with apixaban treatment in adults after knee replacement. However participants in the studies suffered clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolisms) more often under treatment with apixaban than the comparator group.