The small molecule glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (GPI) eptifibatide is just as safe and effective as the better studied but more expensive abciximab in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The less costly GPI’s noninferiority was confirmed by a small randomized trial as well as a large retrospective study, both of which appear in the August 3, 2010, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
