Medco Health Solutions, Inc., announced this week that it will conduct a clinical trial to assess whether clopidogrel bisulfate (Plavix®, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-aventis) is just as effective as the newer drug prasugrel (Effient™, Eli Lilly and Company) in people who lack a genetic variation that inhibits their metabolism of clopidogrel. This new research has [...]

Tags: clopidogrel, clotting, comparative effectiveness research, CYP2C19, Effient, Francis Collins, heart, Medco, pharmacogenomics, Plavix, prasugrel

Researchers are sometimes frustrated when a prospective drug proves effective in some patients, but not enough to justify giving it to everyone who has the condition it is intended to treat.
The beta-blocker drug bucindolol met that fate in 2001 when it was originally tested as a treatment for heart failure. Though it did help a [...]

Tags: beta blockers, bucindolol, heart failure, personalized medicine, pharmacogenomics