While You Were ESCing

An escape to Barcelona sure sounds nice doesn't it? Alas for those who made the trip to ESC it was likely cardiology over crazy nightlife, stenting over sightseeing. Then again, maybe not.

The European Society of Cardiology congress kicked off in Barcelona on Saturday and runs through Wednesday. We hear it's pretty big this year? Let's just say it's not looking good for already-marketed drugs, even new-to-the-market drugs like Effient.

• Oh, RE-LY? Yep. Forbes' Matt Herper has the lowdown on the high marks for AZ's Brilinta and Boehringer's dabigatran. AZ press releases here, Boehringer's are here. And Reuters follows up with a piece about the regulatory challenges each will face.


• Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports on Sanofi-Aventis' otamixaban, which showed positive Phase II results against heparin and Integrilin in patients undergoing procedures to clear clogged arteries.
• Leerink Swan notes positive data out of BMS/Sanofi's high-vs-low dose Plavix trial (which missed its primary endpoint of reducing death, heart attack or stroke at 30 days) and the AZ data above and reduces its sales expectations for Lilly's Effient. How much? Oh, taking $900 million off sales in 2015. (Hat Tip Mike Huckman)

image by flickr user Xavier Fargas used under a creative commons license