BMS and Pfizer Winning Blood Thinning Race

Feb. 19, 2017

Warfarin, sold under the brands of Coumadin and Jantoven, may have dominanted the $10 billion market for anticoagulants for the past 50 years, according to an article in The Motley Fool, but a new class of drugs is quickly becoming more popular. Factor Xa inhibitors that keep blood clots from forming without targeting vitamin K (as warfarin does, among other risks) are making billions of dollars per year in sales.

Currently, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Inc.'s Eliquis is the top-selling factor Xa, but other competitors are also in the fray, including Johnson & Johnson, which manufactures the blockbuster Xarelto. Both drugs are approved for similar patient populations, such as to help prevent deep vein thrombosis in patients following knee or hip replacement, the article said.

Wil Eliquis remain the leader? Read the full story