¡¡¡¡WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world''s leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the patent expiries of Pfizer''s Lipitor (also known as Tahor, Sortis, Torvast and Cardyl), Sanofi-Aventis/Bristol-Myers Squibb''s Plavix/Iscover, Merck''s Zocor and Banyu''s Lipovas will cause the post- myocardial infarction drug market to decline nearly $1 billion by 2016.

    The new Pharmacor report entitled Post-Myocardial Infarction finds that patent expiries of leading drugs will cause the post-myocardial infarction market to decline from $8.9 billion in 2006 to $8.0 billion in 2016. The report finds that an innovative agent with improved efficacy over that of existing treatments would enjoy considerable reward in the markets under study -- the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and Japan.

    Although there are many effective and well-established treatments available in the post-myocardial infarction market, many patients are under- treated because of poor patient compliance and physician failure to comply with guidelines. The low levels of treatment and high incidence of subsequent cardiovascular events leave considerable development opportunity, especially for a multiple-drug "polypill" that would encourage patients'' compliance in taking the many agents they require.

    "Currently, there is no evidence that emerging treatments offer improvements over existing therapies in patient outcome," said Jeremy Goldman, M.D., analyst at Decision Resources. "Key areas of development include identification of an antiplatelet agent or anticoagulant that can achieve better outcomes than clopidogrel and aspirin, without increased bleeding, and drugs that can safely raise high-density lipoprotein levels."

    About Post-Myocardial Infarction

    Currently, coronary heart disease is responsible for one in five deaths in the United States. Despite an array of effective therapies, approximately 10% of patients die within one year of surviving an acute myocardial infarction. As a result, significant opportunity exists for drugs that can improve the event rates of post-myocardial infarction.

    About Decision Resources

    Decision Resources (www.decisionresources.com) is a world leader in market research publications, advisory services, and consulting designed to help clients shape strategy, allocate resources, and master their chosen markets.

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    For more information, contact: Elizabeth Marshall Decision Resources, Inc. 781-296-2563 emarshall@dresources.com

    Source: Decision Resources
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