Pfizer fails again in late-stage anti-clotting trial

There's more bad news for Pfizer's pipeline. An anti-clotting drug it is developing with Bristol-Myers Squibb--apixaban--failed to perform better than Lovenox in a late-stage trial. And the disappointing results persuaded the developers to postpone any new drug application for approval, which had been expected in the second half of '09. Researchers for the company say they are considering other studies of the drug to prevent VTE, ailments that include deep vein thrombosis.

In the comparative trial, bleeding rates were comparable between the two therapies and researchers noted that Lovenox performed much better than it had in previous studies. That leaves Pfizer with yet another in a string of late-stage trials that failed to measure up to expectations. The Wall Street Journal notes that in the past two years the pharma giant has had five late-stage programs that either missed critical endpoints or were dropped from its pipeline.

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- read the report from the Wall Street Journal

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