Boehringer Ingelheim highlights benefits of Pradaxa antidote

Boehringer Ingelheim has welcomed findings from a clinical study showing the safety and efficacy of a new antidote to its drug Pradaxa.

Early research into the fully humanised monoclonal antibody shows that it could deliver effective and rapid reversal of the anticoagulation effect of Pradaxa during critical care situations, or where existing reversal strategies may not be sufficient.

It is well-documented that Pradaxa and other similar therapies for stroke prevention among atrial fibrillation patients carry a chance of triggering excess bleeding, though the positive risk-benefit profile of the drug has been repeatedly confirmed.

Should this new antidote be successfully developed, it would provide clinicians with an additional treatment tool.

Dr Joanne van Ryn, of the department of cardiometabolic disease research at Boehringer Ingelheim, said: "Boehringer Ingelheim is committed to ensuring the best brain protection for people living with atrial fibrillation, which includes ensuring that physicians have every option they may require in the critical care situation."

This comes in the same week that regulators in the EU and US confirmed the health benefits and safety of Pradaxa following independent reviews.