BioCentury
ARTICLE | Product R&D

Safety Factor

How Pfizer aims to compete in the Factor XIa space

September 29, 2016 7:00 AM UTC

Although the advent of Factor Xa inhibitors improved quality of life for many thrombosis patients, the compounds' bleeding risk prevents use in patient populations with certain co-morbidities, and has prompted a handful of companies to explore Factor XI inhibition in parallel. Now, Pfizer Inc. is joining the hunt with a preclinical mAb that has efficacy in rabbits comparable to Bayer AG's Factor Xa inhibitor Xarelto rivaroxaban, with substantially less bleeding.

Despite the fact there are three products targeting Factor XI in clinical development, Pfizer thinks its mAb may provide an even greater safety benefit than the compounds it trails by selectively targeting the enzyme's active site, and because the company has already made a tailored reversal agent. ...