Blood Thinner Developed by Japanese Company Safer than Standard Treatment

Japanese drug maker, Daiichi Sankyo Co. developed an experimental medication to reduce blood clots which proved safer but not better than standard treatment, according to a report released Sunday.

The findings of the study suggest that the compound, edoxaban, may become a contender in its class of factor Xa inhibitors in the competitive anticoagulant market, which includes Xarelto from Johnson & Johnson and Eliquis from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.

Edoxaban is a pill that should be taken once a day and was approved in Japan but not yet in the United States or Europe.

The researchers of the study presented their results in front of thousands of people at the European Society of Cardiology Congress, the largest clinical trial to date of any factor Xa inhibitor.

The data gathered were simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In the study, patients with deep-vein thrombosis, such as blood clots in the legs or other limbs, pulmonary embolism, clots in the lungs, were either administered edoxaban after first being treated with another anticlotting agent, heparin, or given the standard treatment strategy of a decades-old anticoagulant, warfarin, followed by vitamin K.

Patients received three to 12 months of treatment, depending on their individual needs, but all patients were followed for 12 months.

Edoxaban appeared to be safe than warfarin. There were significantly fewer cases of bleeding, including hemorrhage within the skull.