New Study Adds Safety Profile to Plavix

New Data on Clopidogrel and Omeprazole Offer Some 'Reassurance' on Cardiovascular Risk

A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that patients on dual antiplatelet therapy showed no increase in cardiovascular events while receiving omeprazole to lower risks for gastrointestinal bleeding.

The double-blind trial, including 3700 patients had two primary endpoints: gastrointestinal bleeding or pain, and cardiovascular events, such as cardiovascular death, MI, or ischemic stroke. The manufacturer of the clopidogrel-omeprazole combination pill, (Cogentus Pharmaceuticals)designed and sponsored the trial, but the company is now defunct.) Over the course of a median follow-up of 106 days, the data suggested that the gastrointestinal events were significantly less common with clopidogrel-omeprazole (Cardiovascular event rates were also less frequent, but not significantly so (4.9% vs. 5.7%). The authors concluded that the outcome “provides reassurance that there is no clinically significant cardiovascular interaction between PPIs and clopidogrel.”