Thromb Haemost 2016; 115(05): 905-910
DOI: 10.1160/TH15-11-0882
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Schattauer GmbH

Vorapaxar and diplopia: Possible off-target PAR-receptor mismodulation

Victor L. Serebruany
1   Johns Hopkins University, Department of Neurology, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2   HeartDrug Research Laboratories, Towson, Maryland, USA
,
Seth D. Fortmann
2   HeartDrug Research Laboratories, Towson, Maryland, USA
,
Sunil V. Rao
3   Duke University, Department of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
,
Jean-Francois Tanguay
4   Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
,
Marie Lordkipanidze
4   Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
,
Daniel F. Hanley
1   Johns Hopkins University, Department of Neurology, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
,
Mehmet Can
5   Haseki Research and Education Hospital, Cardiology Department, Istanbul, Turkey
,
Moo Hyun Kim
6   Dong-A University Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Busan, South Korea
,
Thomas A. Marciniak
7   Bethesda, Maryland, USA
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received: 17 November 2015

Accepted after major revision: 05 January 2016

Publication Date:
06 December 2017 (online)

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Summary

Vorapaxar, a novel antiplatelet thrombin PAR-1 inhibitor, has been evaluated in the successful TRA2P trial and the failed TRACER trial. The drug is currently approved for post myocardial infarction and peripheral artery disease indications with concomitant use of clopidogrel and/or aspirin. The FDA ruled that the vorapaxar safety profile is acceptable. However, both trials revealed excess diplopia (double vision) usually reversible after vorapaxar. The diplopia risk appears to be small (about 1 extra case per 1,000 treated subjects), but real. Overall, there were 10 placebo and 34 vorapaxar diplopia cases (p=0.018) consistent for TRACER (2 vs 13 cases; p=0.010) and for TRA2P (8 vs 21 cases; p=0.018). Hence, we review the FDA-confirmed evidence and discuss potential causes and implications of such a surprising adverse association, which may be related to off-target PAR receptor mismodulation in the eye.