The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7279 p806
13 December 2003

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Pexelizumab for heart surgery

Pexelizumab, an antibody fragment that inhibits complement activity, might be useful in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, research shows.

The phase III study compared pexelizumab with placebo in 3,100 patients who were undergoing either CABG alone or with valve surgery. Researchers reported that pexelizumab significantly reduced risk of myocardial infarction both at four days and 30 days in all patients after surgery. It also improved mortality rate. However, this effect only reached significance when all patients were considered (ie, both those with and those without concomitant valve surgery) and not when patients without valve surgery were assessed alone.

This led Dr Robert Robbins, Stanford University School of Medicine, to conclude that it would be difficult to justify use of pexelizumab in routine CABG. “My prediction is that it will be utilised in high-risk patients initially,” he said.

The results were presented at the American Heart Association conference in Orlando, Florida, in November.

The Journal’s attendance at the AHA conference was made possible by Pfizer

Coverage of the conference is available on the Reports page