Accumetrics, a privately-held developer and marketer of the VerifyNow® System, the first rapid and easy-to-use point-of-care system for measuring platelet reactivity to multiple antiplatelet agents, has announced the presentation of a 2,000 patient meta-analysis examining patient response to antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Data from the patient-level meta-analysis show that individuals with an inadequate response to clopidogrel have a higher incidence of major adverse cardiac events.
Somjot S Brar, MD, director of vascular medicine and staff interventional cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente, presented the results at the American College of Cardiology’s ACC.10 conference in Atlanta. “Our data suggest that approximately 35% of patients undergoing PCI have poor response to clopidogrel, which is consistent with previous findings,” said Dr Brar. “These patients with inadequate response identified by the VerifyNow test may have twice the risk of ischemic events or death.”
The analysis showed results consistent with previous publications on the clinical utility and importance of assessing response to antiplatelet therapy using the VerifyNow P2Y12 platelet function test, including the recently published POPular trial (JAMA Feb 2010).
Dr Brar continued, “These data could not have come at a more appropriate time based on the FDA’s recent warning that genetic differences may reduce the effectiveness of clopidogrel. Many studies, including our own, have repeatedly shown that there are several factors, including genetics, concomitant medications and pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, that influence the effectiveness of clopidogrel and ultimately clinical outcomes.” Platelet function tests, such as the VerifyNow P2Y12 test, measure the combined effect of all of these factors.
The VerifyNow System is widely used in various clinical settings where antiplatelet medications are prescribed to reduce the occurrence of future thrombotic events such as heart attack and stroke.