Summary
It was the objective of this study to compare the antithrombotic effects and bleeding
profiles of the oral direct thrombin inhibitor ximelagatran, an anticoagulant, and
the antiplatelet agent clopidogrel on top of steady-state acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)
in a human arterial thrombosis model. Healthy male volunteers (n=62) received ASA
(160 mg once daily),plus either clopidogrel for 6 days (loading dose 300 mg, then
75 mg once daily), or a single dose of ximelagatran (36 or 72 mg) on Day 6. Changes
in total thrombus area (TTA) under low shear rate (LSR; 212 s-1) and high shear rate
(HSR; 1690 s-1) conditions were measured, using the ex vivo Badimon perfusion chamber model pre-dose and 2 and 5 hours after dosing on Day 6,
and capillary bleeding times (CBT) were determined. Ximelagatran plus ASA significantly
reduced TTA under LSR and HSR, compared with ASA alone. Ximelagatran plus ASA reduced
TTA more than clopidogrel plus ASA under LSR after2 hours (36 mg, P=0.0011; 72 mg,
P<0.0001) and 5 hours (72 mg, P=0.0057), and under HSR after 2 and 5 hours (72 mg,
P<0.05). Compared with ASA alone, CBT was markedly prolonged by clopidogrel plus ASA
(ratio 6.4; P<0.0001) but only slightly by ximelagatran plus ASA (72 mg ximelagatran,ratio
1.4;P=0.0010).Both drug combinations were well tolerated. Oral ximelagatran plus ASA
has a greater antithrombotic effect in this human ex vivo thrombosis model and a less prounounced prolongation of bleeding time than clopidogrel
plus ASA.
Keywords
Clinical trials - oral anticoagulants - coagulation inhibitors - thrombin