Platelet plumbing

When Centocor Inc.'s ReoPro abciximab was first approved for use in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention in December 1994, it was the only GPIIb/IIIa platelet inhibitor on the market. Six years later, it has two competitors. And while ReoPro still retains the lead in total dollar sales, Cor Therapeutics Inc. now claims the lead in the number of prescriptions ordered, estimating that its Integrilin eptifibatide holds a 45% market share.

The change is largely due to an expansion of the available patient population into indications for which ReoPro has not been approved, lower pricing by the competitors, and in the case of Integrilin, improvements in physician confidence following alteration of recommended dosing schedules...