Promising Oral Antiplatelet Agent for the Treatment of Angina and Myocardial Infarction

Prasugrel is an oral antiplatelet agent. It inhibits platelet aggregation in the blood and prevents blood clot formation that may clog vessels. This novel drug is expected to reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as angina and myocardial infarction.
Prasugrel was invented by a joint research project between DAIICHI SANKYO and Ube Industries, and has been developed in cooperation with Eli Lilly and Company (US).

New Drug Approval Granted in the US and Europe and Ongoing Trials for Additional Indications

The results from the Phase III (TRITON) trial of Prasugrel were announced in November 2007 at the AHA (American Heart Association) Scientific Session, one of the most respected medical conventions in the world. This large-scale clinical trial encompassed 13,600 ACS (acute coronary syndromes) patients requiring percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in over 700 institutes in some 30 countries, mainly in the US and Europe.
The study provided clinical evidence of the superiority of Prasugrel over other drugs conventionally used as standard antiplatelet agents. Based on this finding, a new drug application was granted in February 2009 in Europe (EU) and in July 2009 in the US.
Phase II clinical trials are currently underway in Japan.

At the same time, a new clinical (TRILOGY) trial was initiated to demonstrate an additional indication of Prasugrel. This trial was carried out on ACS patients being treated with drugs but not undergoing PCI. We hope to prove the significant benefits of Prasugrel through these trials (TRILOGY and the said TRITON). If the TRILOGY trial yields the expected results, a much larger scope of patients will be able to benefit from treatment with Prasugrel.

* Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)
PCS is a therapeutic procedure to treat blood vessels of the heart using a catheter without cardiac surgery. It is applied to patients with angina/unstable angina for whom drug treatment alone does not provide sufficient symptomatic relief or to patients with myocardial infarction who require emergency treatment.

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