Business And Finance In Brief

Bristol says Lilly's Effient no match for Plavix: Bristol-Myers Squibb doesn't "think we need to put more or less resources behind Plavix (clopidogrel) because of the imminent launch of Effient," President and Chief Operating Officer Lamberto Andreotti said in response to analysts' questions about expected competition to its star drug from Lilly/Daiichi Sankyo's newly approved anti-coagulant Effient (prasugrel), during a July 23 earnings call. Bristol-Myers Squibb stressed that Plavix has a broader range of use compared to Effient. More than that, Andreotti said, he's not saying, though he did mention Effient's black box warning in the label. Plavix (sales up 15 percent U.S. to $1.39 billion in Q2), which isn't encumbered by a black box warning, is indicated to reduce atherothrombotic events in patients with recent stroke, myocardial infarction, established peripheral arterial disease and for use in acute coronary syndrome. Effient was approved to reduce thrombotic cardiovascular events in ACS patients who are to be managed with percutaneous coronary intervention (1"The Pink Sheet" DAILY, July 10, 2009)