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FDA Approves Eliquis to Reduce Risk of Blood Clots Following Hip Or Knee Replacement Surgery

PRINCETON, N.J. & NEW YORK-- Friday, March 14, 2014 (BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE: BMY) and Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Eliquis (apixaban) for the prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which may lead to pulmonary embolism (PE), in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

“Today’s FDA approval of Eliquis for DVT prophylaxis in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement is a significant milestone for this important medicine, which is also approved to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation,” said Brian Daniels, M.D., senior vice president, global development and medical affairs, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “This approval reflects the continued commitment of the alliance to deliver new treatment options for patients and physicians.”

“As the number of hip and knee replacement surgeries performed in the U.S. continues to increase, the risk of DVT following these surgeries remains a concern for physicians,” said Steven J. Romano, M.D., senior vice president and Medicines Development Group Head, Global Innovative Pharmaceuticals Business, Pfizer Inc. “Eliquis provides patients and physicians with a new treatment option that offers twice daily oral dosing and no routine coagulation testing, and is broadly accessible through hospitals and managed health care formularies.”

The full Prescribing Information for Eliquis includes Boxed Warnings for the increased risk of stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation who discontinue Eliquis without adequate continuous anticoagulation; and for the increased risk of epidural or spinal hematoma, which may cause long-term or permanent paralysis, in patients using Eliquis and undergoing spinal epidural anesthesia or spinal puncture. Please see complete Boxed Warnings and additional Important Safety Information in this press release.

DVT, a blood clot that forms in a large vein, usually in the lower leg, thigh, or pelvis, can lead to PE when a portion or all of a blood clot breaks off and travels to the lungs, blocking one or more blood vessels. PE can lead to sudden death.

Based on recent data, each year in the U.S. an estimated 719,000 total knee replacement surgeries and 332,000 hip replacement surgeries are performed. Patients undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery without thromboprophylaxis are at risk for developing DVT and PE. Guidelines recommend the use of anticoagulants for the prophylaxis of DVT and PE for most patients undergoing orthopedic surgery.

“DVT, which may lead to PE, is a serious medical condition,” said Richard J. Friedman, M.D., FRCSC, Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina. “The FDA approval of Eliquis gives U.S. orthopedic surgeons a new option for DVT prophylaxis in both hip and knee replacement surgery.”

This sNDA approval for Eliquis is supported by three clinical trials (the ADVANCE clinical trial program). The ADVANCE trials randomized more than 11,000 patients, with 5,770 receiving Eliquis and 5,755 receiving enoxaparin, to assess the safety and efficacy of Eliquis.

In December 2013, the FDA accepted for review another sNDA for Eliquis for the treatment of DVT and PE, and for the reduction in the risk of recurrent DVT and PE.

About Eliquis

Eliquis (apixaban) is an oral selective Factor Xa inhibitor. By inhibiting Factor Xa, a key blood clotting protein, Eliquis decreases thrombin generation and blood clot formation. Eliquis is approved to reduce the risk of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation and for prophylaxis of DVT, which may lead to PE, in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

About Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism

DVT is a blood clot in a vein, usually in the lower leg, thigh, or pelvis, which partially or totally blocks the flow of blood. PE is a blood clot blocking one or more vessels in the lungs. DVT causes multiple symptoms including pain, swelling, and redness, and more importantly, can progress to PE, which carries the risk of sudden death.

Please see full Prescribing Information, including BOXED WARNINGS and Medication Guide, available at www.bms.com.

About the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer Collaboration

In 2007, Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb entered into a worldwide collaboration to develop and commercialize Eliquis, an oral anticoagulant discovered by Bristol-Myers Squibb. This global alliance combines Bristol-Myers Squibb’s long-standing strengths in cardiovascular drug development and commercialization with Pfizer’s global scale and expertise in this field.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.bms.com or follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bmsnews.

Pfizer Inc.: Working together for a healthier world™

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, Pfizer has worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. To learn more, please visit us at www.pfizer.com.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding product development. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including factors that could delay, divert or change any of them, and could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially from current expectations. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Among other risks, there can be no guarantee that the approval of these additional indications in the U.S. will lead to increased commercial success or that ELIQUIS will be approved for any other additional indications. Forward-looking statements in this press release should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect Bristol-Myers Squibb's business, particularly those identified in the cautionary factors discussion in Bristol-Myers Squibb's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Bristol-Myers Squibb undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

PFIZER DISCLOSURE NOTICE:

The information contained in this release is as of March 14, 2014. Pfizer assumes no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this release as the result of new information or future events or developments.

This release contains forward-looking information about ELIQUIS (apixaban), including its potential benefits, that involves substantial risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (i) uncertainty regarding the commercial success of the indication for Eliquis for the prophylaxis of DVT in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery; (ii) whether and when ELIQUIS may be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of DVT and PE and for the reduction in the risk of recurrent DVT and PE, as well as the FDA's decisions regarding labeling and other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of that additional indication for Eliquis; and (iii) competitive developments.

A further description of risks and uncertainties can be found in Pfizer's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 and in its reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K.

Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb

Posted: March 2014

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