Ticagrelor doubts: inaccuracies uncovered in key studies for AstraZeneca’s billion dollar drug
As generic versions of AstraZeneca’s blockbuster drug ticagrelor prepare to enter the market, The BMJ raises fresh concerns over the integrity of the clinical trials that underpinned its approval. Peter Doshi reports ### What we found The multibillion dollar heart drug ticagrelor (Brilinta, Brilique) goes generic this year. Last December, a BMJ investigation found serious data integrity problems in the landmark 18 000 patient PLATO study,1 calling into question the drug’s advantage over cheaper rivals. In this article, The BMJ has expanded its investigation, looking at two key platelet studies that AstraZeneca claimed explained ticagrelor’s ability to treat patients with acute coronary syndrome successfully. We found evidence of serious misreporting, however, raising doubts over the approval and decade long use of ticagrelor. We found: For more than a decade, the multibillion dollar drug ticagrelor (Brilinta in the US and Brilique in Europe) has been recommended in the treatment of pat
