Early Results: Antiplatelet Drug Cangrelor Appears Effective For PCI Reply

The experimental antiplatelet drug cangrelor was superior to traditional clopidogrel in reducing ischemic events at 48 hours in PCI patients, according to the Medicines Company, which is developing the drug. The company today announced positive results from the phase 3 CHAMPION PHOENIX trial, a randomized, double-blind study comparing intravenous cangrelor to oral clopidogrel in PCI patients. The primary endpoint was the composite of death, MI, revascularization and stent thrombosis at 48 hours.

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Ohio Hospital And Cardiology Group Pay $4.4 Million To Settle Charges Over Unnecessary PCIs 2

In 2006, Reed Abelson in the New York Times reported that the PCI rate in Elyria, Ohio was four times the national average. Now, six-and-a-half years later, the local hospital and cardiology group have agreed to pay $4.4 million to settle US allegations “that the hospital and the physicians “performed angioplasty and stent placement procedures on patients who had heart disease but whose blood vessels were not sufficiently occluded to require the particular procedures at issue.”

The leader of the cardiology group defends its quality of care and says it “settled this matter so we can put it behind us and move forward.”

Read my complete story about this on Forbes.