Health Canada approves BRILINTA (ticagrelor tablets)

AstraZeneca today announced that Health Canada has approved BRILINTA (ticagrelor tablets) for the secondary prevention of atherothrombotic events in patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS).

It is estimated that approximately 122,000 Canadians have an ACS event every year. Data suggests that up to 15 percent of patients with ACS die within one year of their cardiovascular event .

With the approval in Canada, BRILINTA has now been approved in 33 countries, including in the European Union under the trade name BRILIQUE and in Brazil, Malaysia, and Macau under the trade name BRILINTA. The product is currently under regulatory review in 42 countries, including the United States, Russia, India, and China.

The approval of BRILINTA in Canada is supported by data from the PLATO (A Study of PLATelet Inhibition and Patient Outcomes) study which established the superiority of ticagrelor with aspirin over clopidogrel with aspirin for the prevention of another cardiovascular event in hospitalised ACS patients.

Like all medicines, BRILINTA can cause side effects, although not every patient will experience them. The most common adverse events reported by patients on BRILINTA include an increase in bleeding (such as nosebleeds), shortness of breath and headache.