Phase III trials of cangrelor for PCI confirm advantages

A pooled analysis of three Phase III clinical trials of cangrelor, from The Medicines Company, confirm the results of the CHAMPION PHOENIX trial presented and published in April 2013. The trials compared IV cangrelor to either oral clopidogrel or placebo for prevention of thrombotic complications during and after Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI). Data from approximately 25,000 patients undergoing PCI demonstrates that cangrelor significantly reduced the odds of the primary composite endpoint of death, myocardial infarction, ischemia-driven revascularization or stent thrombosis at 48 hours after randomization by 19% (3.8% for cangrelor vs. 4.7% for control) and stent thrombosis by 41%.

Findings were consistent across all analyzed subgroups of patients, including age, geography, diagnosis at presentation, and choice of periprocedural anticoagulant. The incidence of clinically important major bleeding was not increased with cangrelor. Results were presented at the European Society of Cardiology and published in The Lancet: "Effect of cangrelor on periprocedural outcomes in percutaneous coronary interventions: a pooled analysis of patient-level data." Philippe Gabriel Steg et al. The Lancet, 3 September 2013, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(13)61615-3