FDA To look at benefits of Plavix in certain patients

As posted a couple weeks ago, perhaps Plavix might be next on the list for a personalized medicine review as it is said to metabolize differently in some individuals than others?  BD 

From a prior post:

Plavix – What’s the next step for doctors and patients – possible genetic testing in the near future?

Will Plavix be the next drug up for a genetic test?  There are not many alternative drugs either that could easily replace the functionality of Plavix, it is a blood thinner.   One idea would be to monitor patients with poor liver or kidney metabolization. as suggested here, a blog written by Steve Murphy, MD of New York who has a personalized medicine practice, and thus electronic records would help the cause here tremendously as manually if a practice has a substantial amount of patients, it would be a nightmare. 

AP) -- Federal health officials are investigating whether the blood thinner Plavix - the world's second-best-selling drug and used by millions to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke - may be less effective in some patients.

The Food and Drug Administration said Monday it is reviewing reports that certain heartburn medications can neutralize the benefits of Plavix. The agency said it is also investigating whether patients from certain genetic backgrounds also don't reap the drug's benefits.

In both cases, FDA said patients may have trouble metabolizing Plavix, reducing its ability to prevent deadly blood clots.

Plavix had global sales of $7.3 billion in 2007. The drug is marketed by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi-Aventis SA and has been prescribed to more than 90 million patients around the world.

FDA reviews benefits of Plavix in certain patients

Technorati Tags: genomics,personalized medicine,DNA,healthcare,sequencing,technology,Health IT,Biotech,pharmacogenomics,Plavix,cardiology,physician,FDA,FDA warnings,Information overload