As the public is now aware, Eliquis is the most recent addition to the New Oral Anticoagulants (NOACs). Along with Pradaxa and Xarelto, Eliquis has earned billions for its respective manufacturing companies almost instantly after release, but with each facing the same potential bleeding side effects.

Each of these drugs are direct competitors to the traditional blood thinner, Warfarin, and have become widely popular among patients and physicians. Eliquis was approved in 2012 to be a treatment option for patients with atrial fibrillation, and to prevent stroke in high risk patients. Interestingly enough, Eliquis was released during the time patients and healthcare providers were panicking about the new generation anticoagulants causing life-threatening bleeding injuries.

Rather than be intimidated by the negative press, the manufacturing companies Pfizer and Bristol-Meyers Squibb have decided to collaborate with Portola Pharmaceuticals in the process of creating a reversal agent for Eliquis and other anticoagulants, rather than pull it from the market. According to a recent article published by a drug industry trade publication, The Pharma Letter, good progress is being made in the development of a potential bleeding antidote, andexanet alfa.

While the original anticoagulant Warfarin is now less popular, physicians often defer to this drug because it requires blood monitoring and frequent dose adjustment, allowing the physician to sufficiently monitor the patient. Additionally, Warfarin also comes with a bleeding reversal agent in the form of vitamin K, making it preferable for physicians to prescribe over its younger competitors.

Andexanet alfa is now in Phase III clinical trials for Eliquis, which determine if the agent can be administered to a large number of people. The purpose of this is to determine its strength, side effects, compare it to other treatments, and to ultimately decide if the reversal agent would be safe for patient use. Essentially, this is the final part of the clinical trials before the reversal agent is approved for sale in the American market. The next phase will be complete after the reversal agent has been on the market for a period of time, which will allow scientists to confirm its long-term side effects.

If andexanet alfa is proven safe for patient use, this would be excellent news for patients currently taking Eliquis, Xarelto and Savaysa. Unfortunately, this does not help the thousands of patients who have already suffered bleeding injuries from Eliquis and the other new anticoagulants.

Overview of Eliquis Complications

Almost as soon as they hit the market, these new anticoagulants became popular among the patient population. The reason for this is because these drugs do not require frequent dose adjustments, and do not require the patient to go visit their doctor frequently, like warfarin. Unfortunately, none of these drugs currently have have a reversal method available in case of internal bleeding, which can lead to fatal consequences.

Medical experts state that due to the fact that these patients do not require frequent blood monitoring, many patients were struck with avoidable injuries. Among the reported complications, one of the most common was gastrointestinal hemorrhage; these injuries can be fatal if medical intervention is not applied quickly enough.

While Eliquis is brand new to the market, it is still under fire for possibly being linked to internal bleeding injuries. While there have been no reported lawsuits yet, lawyers are already preparing for the potential onslaught of familiar product liability suits. Upon their release, Pradaxa and Xarelto were both heavily advertised and contained no warnings of bleeding injuries. Legal experts explain that because Eliquis is following a similar process as Pradaxa and Xarelto, they are predicting similar results.