Bayer Heart Drug
Wednesday February 7, 8:23 am ET
Bayer Drug Trasylol Questioned in New Study, Associated With Higher Death Rate NEW YORK (AP)
German drug maker Bayer AG will be in focus Wednesday after an international study linked its Trasylol drug to increased death rates in post-surgery patients.
The study found that patients on aprotinin, sold by Bayer as Trasylol, had a mortality rate two-thirds greater than patients using different drugs, or none at all. Aprotinin is prescribed for heart-surgery patients with a higher-than-normal risk of bleeding.
Most of the deaths were related to kidney damage, heart attacks and stroke. A study last year linked aprotinin to those conditions.
The new study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Bayer said Trasylol is normally used on patients at high risk for bleeding and in more complex operations than the generic drugs that were used as controls. The study did not take those factors into account, the company said. Five years after their operations, 20.8 percent of patients treated with aprotinin had died, compared with 12.7 percent of those treated with aminocaproic acid, tranexamic acid, or those not given similar drugs.
Aprotinin was approved in 1993 for high-risk patients, and has been used on other coronary bypass patients since 1998.
The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing aprotinin again, and ordered stronger warning labels in December.
American depositary shares of Bayer closed Tuesday at $58.49 on the NYSE.
TRADEMARK NOTICE: Trasylol is a trademark of Bayer AG pharmaceuticals.
The Carabin & Shaw Law Firm, its' lawyers and this website is in no way affiliated with Bayer AG pharmaceuticals. The use of this mark is solely for informational and product identification purposes.
Bayer Drug Trasylol Questioned in New Study, Associated With Higher Death Rate NEW YORK (AP)
German drug maker Bayer AG will be in focus Wednesday after an international study linked its Trasylol drug to increased death rates in post-surgery patients.
The study found that patients on aprotinin, sold by Bayer as Trasylol, had a mortality rate two-thirds greater than patients using different drugs, or none at all. Aprotinin is prescribed for heart-surgery patients with a higher-than-normal risk of bleeding.
Most of the deaths were related to kidney damage, heart attacks and stroke. A study last year linked aprotinin to those conditions.
The new study appears in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.
Bayer said Trasylol is normally used on patients at high risk for bleeding and in more complex operations than the generic drugs that were used as controls. The study did not take those factors into account, the company said. Five years after their operations, 20.8 percent of patients treated with aprotinin had died, compared with 12.7 percent of those treated with aminocaproic acid, tranexamic acid, or those not given similar drugs.
Aprotinin was approved in 1993 for high-risk patients, and has been used on other coronary bypass patients since 1998.
The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing aprotinin again, and ordered stronger warning labels in December.
American depositary shares of Bayer closed Tuesday at $58.49 on the NYSE.
TRADEMARK NOTICE: Trasylol is a trademark of Bayer AG pharmaceuticals.
The Carabin & Shaw Law Firm, its' lawyers and this website is in no way affiliated with Bayer AG pharmaceuticals. The use of this mark is solely for informational and product identification purposes.
