The new therapy reduced the combined risk of new MI and death by 43 per cent. Aggrastat does not dissolve clots but it does help prevent them growing. Researchers found that blood failed to clot in animals bitten by these snakes. Ancrod, to be marketed as Viprinex, removes fibrinogen, a protein that augments clot formation, from the blood, improving blood flow - a useful property that also has potential in the treatment of stroke. In the course of stroke, the blood supply to parts of the brain is interrupted and serious neurological damage is often the result.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in England and Wales, after heart disease and cancer.
About 1.4m cases of acute ischaemic stroke occur in the US and Western Europe each year. Ancrod may be able to reduce the extent of stroke-induced damage and lower the mortality rate, although it is still several years away from being approved as a treatment for this indication. Cardiovascular Diagnostics of Raleigh, North Carolina, US, has completed initial development of a test to monitor fibrinogen levels during ischaemic stroke treatment. The test is to be used in trials to monitor fibrinogen levels in patients receiving ancrod. The data collected will be used by Knoll in its regulatory submissions for ancrod.