Sanofi-Aventis Reports Phase II Trial Success For Otamixiban

French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis S.A. (SAN.FR) Sunday said an experimental drug designed to stop blood clots in patients with serious heart conditions met its goals in a mid-stage trial.

Sanofi said patients treated with otamixaban in a phase two trial had a lower rate of deaths, second heart attacks or other complications compared to those receiving standard treatment with heparin and Integrilin, a drug marketed by Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP).

The odds of death, another heart attack or other complications was cut by between 27% and 42% among patients getting otamixiban, depending on the dose, Sanofi said.

The drug was tested in a trial with 3,241 patients. Five different doses were tested. Studies on patients receiving the lowest dose were stopped following a review by an oversight board.

Sanofi said intermediate doses showed the greatest effect.

"The data show that intermediate dosages of otamixaban may offer substantial reduction in major coronary complications in patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome, with bleeding rate comparable to current therapy," said Dr Marc Sabatine, an investigator in the study and a cardiologist at Brigham and Womens Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

The results were presented at the European Society of Cardiology congress in Barcelona and in the British medical journal the Lancet.

Company Web site: www.sanofi-aventis.com

-By Jason Douglas, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9272; [e-mail]