Sanofi-Aventis Says Its Anticoagulant Clexane Gets Approval In Japan

(RTTNews) - Monday, pharmaceutical company, Sanofi-Aventis (SNY | news | PowerRating | PR Charts ) said its Clexane, the drug that prevents blood from clotting got marketing approval in Japan. The company also said the drug is particularly used in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery, and who are at risk for venous thromboembolism.

Clexane is used for preventing venous thromboembolism, or VTE, in patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery of the lower limbs such as total hip replacement, total knee replacement and hip fracture surgery. Enoxaparin sodium is known by the brand name Clexane.

VTE is a frequent and preventable complication among patients hospitalized for orthopaedic surgery. The Japanese VTE guidelines state that, without prophylaxis, between 27% and 50% of orthopaedic surgery patients may suffer from deep vein thrombosis. Among the hospitalised patients at risk for VTE, 64% are those undergoing surgery.

Hanspeter Spek, Executive Vice-President Pharmaceutical Operations of sanofi-aventis, commented, "Clexane's approval illustrates the commitment of sanofi-aventis to bring new life saving drugs to patients in Japan, where further clinical trials are being conducted with Clexane to extend its use to abdominal surgery patients who are at risk for venous thromboembolic complications."

International guidelines suggested Clexane for severely ill medical patients, and are a significant treatment option for millions of patients at risk of VTE. International guidelines further recommend Clexane in arterial thrombosis, where it has proved its effectiveness in preventing, in conjunction with other treatments, the ischaemic complications of unstable angina and myocardial infarction.

SNY closed Friday's trade at $40.34, down $1.37 or 3.28%, on a volume of 1.45 million shares.

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