AstraZeneca’s heart drug Brilinta fails in stroke trial

The Socrates trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of 90-day treatment with Brilinta/Brilique versus aspirin for the prevention of major vascular events in patients over 40 years-old with an acute ischaemic stroke.

The trail’s results revealed that Brilinta given at a dose of 90mg twice-daily was no more effective than a single 100mg daily dose of aspirin in preventing stroke.

Even though fewer events were observed in the patients taking Brilinta, the overall trend from the trial did not reach statistical significance.

AstraZeneca executive vice president of global medicines development and chief medical officer Sean Bohen said: "We will present the full analysis of the trial results, including subgroups, at a forthcoming stroke congress and will engage with regulatory agencies on the interpretation of the data.

"The Socrates trial enrolled a patient population that differs from the currently-approved indications for Brilinta/Brilique."

The company expects to report data from the ongoing Euclid trial in peripheral arterial disease in the second half of 2016.

Euclid is the fourth trial to read-out from the Parthenon program, evaluating the potential of Brilinta in additional high-risk patient populations.

Brilinta is a direct-acting P2Y12 receptor antagonist in a chemical class called cyclo-pentyl-triazolo-pyrimidines.

It works by inhibiting platelet activation and has been demonstrated to reduce the rate of thrombotic cardiovascular events, like heart attack or CV death, in patients with ACS.