New Daiichi drug succeeds in major study; set to face rivals

Sign of Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd. is seen at the company's head office in TokyoBy Bill Berkrot and Ransdell Pierson DALLAS (Reuters) – A new blood clot and stroke preventer from Daiichi Sankyo proved as effective and safer than widely used warfarin in a large, late stage trial of patients with atrial fibrillation, paving the way for it to compete with other new warfarin alternatives on the market. The drug, edoxaban, met the main efficacy and safety goals of the study by demonstrating "non-inferiority" to warfarin in preventing strokes and blood clots and led to significantly less major bleeding – the greatest danger of blood thinning medicines. The trial, dubbed Engage AF, tested two doses of edoxaban against warfarin in 21,105 patients with atrial fibrillation – a dangerously irregular heartbeat – at moderate to high risk of stroke. It followed patients on average for nearly three years, making it the largest and longest study to date of any of the new generation of blood thinners.