Cangrelor trial success quickens pulses of Medicines Company investors

All the Medicines Company needed to do to prove that its blood-thinner cangrelor could outperform Plavix in preventing cardiovascular events and death in patients undergoing heart procedures was change its dosing protocols and the definition of a heart attack. After two trials of the drug were terminated in 2009 when they showed no signs of efficacy, success in the Champion Phoenix test suggests the study was well named.

The news drove shares up 12% to a six-year high of $28.83 yesterday as investors saw the potential to add sales growth to that of its biggest seller, Angiomax, which might face competition in 2019. The big question will be regulators’ views of the changes to the trial design, to which the FDA had not agreed in advance.