Boehringer Ingelheim got a boost from the all-stars of cardiac care. Its new blood thinner Pradaxa has now been enshrined in the American College of Cardiology's treatment guidelines. The first warfarin alternative to be approved in the U.S.--the first of several, if other drugmakers have their way--now is recommended by the ACC, the American Heart Association and the Heart Rhythm Society for patients with irregular heartbeat.
Craig January, a University of Wisconsin professor who headed up the guidelines-writing subcommittee, said the ACC's opinion may well sway doctors toward Pradaxa. "This is actually a very impressive roll-out for a new drug," January told Bloomberg.
As January noted, doctors are just starting to gain experience with Pradaxa, so widespread adoption of it could take some time. But as the first to market, it will have an edge over hopefuls such as Xarelto, developed by Johnson & Johnson and Bayer and now under FDA consideration. Boehringer VP Wa'el Hashad told Bloomberg that half the cardiologists the company has targeted have already written at least one scrip for Pradaxa.
- read the Bloomberg piece