More on AF

For nearly half a century, sanofi-aventis has helped to improve the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF)ⁱ, the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmiaⁱ (abnormal heart rhythm),¹ and the management of other arrhythmias by developing innovative medicines and new therapeutic strategies.

AF is one of the growing cardiovascular conditions of the 21st century and is becoming a significant public health concern, along with congestive heart failureⁱ, type-2 diabetes, and age-related conditions.² Nearly seven million people in the US and Europe were diagnosed with AF in 20011 and this number is predicted to nearly triple by 2050.³ Although there are multiple options for the treatment of AF, treatment success varies from patient to patient. Managing AF and its associated complications remains a major challenge with unmet medical needs.

The company’s discovery of the powerful anti-arrhythmic drug, amiodarone (Cordarone®) in the 1960s established the foundations of modern anti-arrhythmic therapy. Since then, its ongoing commitment to developing new treatments for AF has led to the discovery of dronedarone (Multaq®), one of the major therapeutic advances in AF care in the past 20 years.

Dronedarone is the result of 17 years of pre-clinical and clinical research involving more than 7,000 patients. It is the only anti-arrhythmic drug proven to significantly reduce cardiovascular hospitalization or death in AF patients, and this with a favorable safety profile.

Dronedarone has now been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Health Canada under the brand name Multaq® and is currently under regulatory review by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).

As part of its extensive research programme in AF, sanofi-aventis is also investigating the therapeutic potential of idrabiotaparinux (a new, long acting anticoagulant) and that of products already on the market such as Plavix® (clopidogrel bisulfate) and Aprovel® (irbesartan).

The company’s commitment to improving AF management goes beyond the development of therapeutics:

• To promote scientific knowledge about the current management of AF, sanofi-aventis is sponsoring RecordAF, the largest prospective international registry ever conducted in patients with paroxysmal or persistent AF, which will help evaluate the control of AF and clinical outcomes linked with AF treatment strategies in hospital and by office-based cardiologists. Results from the RecordAF registry are expected to be presented by the end of 2009.

For more information about RecordAF visit:
www.recordaf.org

• To raise public awareness and education about the burden of AF for patients, doctors and healthcare systems, sanofi-aventis is supporting AF AWARE (AF AWareness And Risk Education), a joint initiative by the World Heart Federation (WHF), Atrial Fibrillation Association (AFA), Strokeⁱ Alliance For Europe (SAFE), and European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA) dedicated to highlight and address issues that contribute to the growing burden of AF worldwide and to gain greater recognition of AF as a major international public health concern.

In June 2009, to mark the start of World Heart Rhythm Week, the AF AWARE coalition coordinated a number of educational workshops for members of the media and called upon their peers around the world to raise awareness and understanding of AF and its cardiovascular consequences.

Key dates
2009: Multaq® (dronedarone) approved in the US and Canada
2000s: Clinical trials demonstrate the efficacy of dronedarone (DAFNE, EURIDIS ADONIS, ERATO). Positive results of the landmark ATHENA study: dronedarone reduces morbi-mortality in atrial fibrillation patients.
1990s: Discovery of dronedarone and initiation of its clinical development.
1980s: Launch in Europe of adenosine (Adenocor®) as a gold standard treatment for termination of some paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardias.
1970s: The powerful anti-arrhythmic effects of amiodarone revealed. The product gradually becomes gold standard treatment in atrial fibrillation.
1961: Discovery and development of amiodarone (Cordarone®) for the treatment of angina pectoris.

References :

1. Fuster V et al. ACC/AHA/ESC 2006 guidelines for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation. European Heart Journal (2006) 27, 1979-2030.
2. Wolf PA, Dawber TR, Thomas HE Jr, Kannel WB. Epidemiologic assessment of chronic atrial fibrillation and risk of stroke: the Framingham study. Neurology. 1978; 28: 973-77.
3. Miyasaka Y, Barnes ME, Gersh BJ, et al., Secular trends in incidence of atrial fibrillation in Olmsted County, Minnesota, 1980 to 2000, and implications on the projections for future prevalence, Circulation, 2006;114:119–25.