Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Announce FDA Approval of Eliquis for DVT

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer are ending their work week on a high note. The latter announced that a Supplemental New Drug application for the medication they developed together, Eliquis, has been conditionally approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The regulator gave the nod to the drug for the preventive treatment of deep vein thrombosis in patients who have undergone hip or knee replacement surgery.

Deep vein thrombosis is a condition in which a blood clot forms in a large vein. If the clot breaks and travels through the blood system, the condition could lead to a potentially fatal blockage of the main artery of the lung.

According to data cited by Pfizer, roughly 719,000 knee replacement surgeries and 332,000 hip replacement procedures are performed each year.