Cor's new anti-platelet play

In the search for better oral anti-platelet drugs, oral platelet inhibition based on GPIIb/IIIa antagonists has proven to be more difficult than expected. Cor Therapeutics Inc. is one of the few remaining companies with an oral GPIIb/IIIa inhibitor, Cromafiban, in development for acute coronary syndrome or cerebrovascular accidents. But it also is hedging its bets with another mediator of platelet aggregation, P2Y12.

Last week, CORR published in Nature the cloning of P2Y12, a platelet ADP-receptor. The company's investment in P2Y12 provides it with a new target for development of an oral platelet inhibitor that has already been well validated, although existing products still leave room for improvement...