Ganging up on stroke

Stroke has a number of etiologies that call for different treatments as well as different preventive strategies. An FDA advisory panel last week reviewed two drugs for stroke, either of which would complement rather than compete with Genentech Inc.'s Activase tPA clot dissolving agent, which was approved in June 1996 to treat stroke.

The FDA's Peripheral & Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee unanimously recommended approval of Aggrenox extended-release dipyridamole capsules from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Ridgefield, Conn.). The compound is a platelet inhibitor designed to prevent recurrent stroke in patients who have previously experienced it...