According to information from Decision Resources, one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms for drugs and healthcare concerns, of the American cardiologists surveyed, most of them would not prescribe Multaq to treat atrial fibrillation (AF).
The cardiologists surveyed prefer to prescribe medications like Cardiome/Merck’s oral Vernakalant and Gilead/Menarini’s Ranolazine instead of Multaq, which is manufactured by Sanofi-Aventis. At this time, the Cardiome and Gilead are expected to be prescribed to as many as 10 percent of the American AF patients by 2020.
“Additionally, we expect the uptake of Ranolazine will be due to its strong safety profile and clinical data indicating its notable antiarrhythmic efficacy,” notes Decision Resources analyst Conor Walsh. “Several components of Vernakalant’s mechanism of action could ensure that it yields strong atrial-selective effects, which would reduce the risk of adverse events arising from off-target effects on the ventricles and confer an important competitive advantage over currently available oral antiarrhythmics. Additionally, we expect the uptake of Ranolazine will be due to its strong safety profile and clinical data indicating its notable antiarrhythmic efficacy.”
Decision Resources also points out that from the clinical information and opinions of thought leaders that were interviewed, drugs like Amiodarone, which is a generic version of Sanofi-Aventis’s drug Cordarone, has been given a clinical gold-standard status because of the drug’s ability to control the heart sinus rhythm (NSR) for AF patients. For now, Decision Resources isn’t expecting to replace Amiodarone as its proprietary clinical gold standard for atrial fibrillation.
This may be good news for Sanofi since their other AF medication, Multaq, has met much opposition in recent months after clinical trials have proven the drug to be just as dangerous to patients as the condition it treats. Multaq has been proven to cause liver failure in some patients and a worsening of the heart condition for others. Some patients have even died while taking Multaq, causing the PALLAS clinical trial to be halted altogether.
If your or a loved one have taken Multaq and developed liver failure or a worsening heart condition, contact the attorneys at Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting Multaq lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your injuries.