PARSIPPANY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO) announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has granted a positive opinion applicable to all Member States of the European Union/European Economic Area that will extend the use of Angiox (bivalirudin) to include patients with heart attacks (so-called ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)) undergoing emergency heart procedures called primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The basis of this approval is the landmark HORIZONS-AMI study which was the first drug trial to demonstrate a reduction in deaths from heart attacks in patients undergoing emergency PCI. The trial showed that patients treated with Angiox compared with today’s leading treatment - heparin plus a platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitor (GPI) – were more likely to survive and had less frequent severe bleeds.
