COMPASS trial results for the anti-coagulant (Factor Xa inhibitor) therapy Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) were also presented today. Seems like a home run. This trial was actually halted early back in February due to its overwhelming efficacy. This drug is already being widely used and has been used in the clinical setting for several years now. But this COMPASS study is the largest clinical study of the drug to date and now supports the superior effect of Xarelto plus aspirin as compared to aspirin alone. Here's a nice Business Wire write up, the NEJM article, an ESC write up on the stable cardiovascular disease portion, and an ESC write up on the peripheral artery disease portion.

From the Business Wire write up: "For the primary efficacy outcome, rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily plus aspirin 100 mg once daily was superior to aspirin 100 mg once daily alone for the prevention of the composite endpoint of stroke, CV death and MI (hazard ratio [HR] 0.76; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.66-0.86; P<0.001). Rivaroxaban 2.5 mg twice daily plus aspirin 100 mg once daily reduced the risk of stroke by 42% (HR 0.58; 95% CI 0.44-0.76; P<0.001, CV death by 22% (HR 0.78; 95% CI 0.64-0.96; P=0.02) and heart attack by 14% (HR 0.86; 95% CI 0.70-1.05; P=0.14). Rivaroxaban 5 mg twice daily also reduced the composite outcome of stroke, CV death and MI but these results were not statistically significant."