Somebody wake up! Things too quite!! Would like to see CNTO hold in here, i.e. 34-35. Nt too pleased with cost of ReoPro, which could hurt it's approval for unstable angina and less risk heart patients:
<<"Super aspirin" helps unclog arteries, study shows
CHICAGO, Aug 12 (Reuter) - Severely ill heart patients who undergo angioplasty to reopen clogged cardiac vessels could benefit from taking an anti-clotting ``super-aspirin'' -- but at a cost of
$1,350 per dose, researchers said on Tuesday.
Administering the drug abciximab, made by Centocor Inc. (CNTO) under the brand name ReoPro,prior to the angioplasty reduced by 19 percent the risk of death, heart attack and the need to reopen the arteries after the first year.
After three years, the risk was 13 percent lower, the study of roughly 2,000 patients by Eric Topol of The Cleveland Clinic found. The drug maker helped fund the research, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Abciximab, known anecdotally as ``super-aspirin,'' held significant benefits for patients with acute symptoms of heart disease and severe angina pain. A larger study would be needed to provide a cost-benefit analysis of whether wider use of the drug would help all heart patients, Topol wrote.
``The cost of this drug should bring significant attention to the question who should receive it,'' said David Fischman, of Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, in an accompanying editorial.
``The issue of cost-effectiveness is vital to understanding whether or not ReoPro should be used in lower risk patient populations,'' he wrote. >>
Any thoughts?
Thx in advance for comments...FNS |
