Ticagrelor: A new antiplatelet drug for acute coronary syndromes

Abstract

Coronary heart disease and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality all over the world. Antiplatelet agents play an essential role in the treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), usually with aspirin and a thienopyridine. Currently, clopidogrel, a second generation thienopyridine, is the main drug of choice, and the combination of aspirin and clopidogrel is administered orally for the treatment of ACS. Clopidogrel, the most commonly used thienopyridine, is limited by a high degree of interpatient variability and inconsistent inhibition of platelets. Ticagrelor, a new, oral, direct-acting P2Y12 receptor antagonist, produces a more profound and consistent antiplatelet effect than clopidogrel. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ticagrelor on July 20, 2011. Furthermore, ticagrelor has at least one active metabolite, which has pharmacokinetics that are very similar to the parent compound. Therefore, ticagrelor has a more rapid onset and more pronounced platelet inhibition than other antiplatelet agents. The safety and efficacy of ticagrelor compared with clopidogrel, in an ACS patient, has been recently evaluated by the PLATelet inhibition and patient Outcomes (PLATO) trial. Clinical studies of patients with both ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation ACS have shown that ticagrelor, when compared with clopidogrel, reduces the rates of vascular death and myocardial infarction. The clinical data currently available indicate that ticagrelor is a promising option for the treatment of patients with ACS and may be of particular use in those at high risk for ischemic events or in those unresponsive to clopidogrel.