Germany's IQWiG finds considerable added benefit for Bristol-Myers/Pfizer's Eliquis

In an early benefit assessment under the German Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined the added benefit of apixaban, US drug majors Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) Eliquis, which has been approved in Germany since November 2012 for the prevention of embolism and stroke in adults with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

The IQWiG found an indication of a considerable added benefit of apixaban for each of two patient groups: Patients who can also be treated with a vitamin K antagonist (VKA) have a lower risk of dying, stroke or major bleeding than with warfarin treatment. This only applies to people older than 65 years, however. For younger patients, apixaban does not have an advantage. In patients for whom VKA is not an option, stroke and embolism occur less frequently than with acetylsalicylic acid (ASA).

The G-BA distinguishes between two treatment situations