UK NICE recommends reduced dose of Brilique (ticagrelor) for 3 years to prevent heart attack or stroke- AstraZeneca

A final appraisal from the UK's National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends a reduced dose of Brilique (ticagrelor), from AstraZeneca, for long-term use in the prevention of heart attack and stroke. Ticagrelor 90mg is already recommended for 12 months after a heart attack to protect patients from further attacks. NICE is now also backing the use of the 60mg dose for three years beyond initial treatment to help prevent another heart attack of stroke in high risk patients.

Comment: The negative outcome of the EUCLID trial of Brilinta for PAD was a disappointment to AstraZeneca coming after the failure of the SOCRATES trial to expand the label into stroke prevention. The estimate of sales of $3.5 billion by 2023 is highly unlikely to be achieved. Next trial to report is THEMIS a CV outcomes trial for diabetic patients.