Genentech Drug Is Not Safe With Angioplasty

Genentech Inc. and Boehringer Ingelheim’s TNKase clot-busting drug isn’t safe for use with artery-clearing angioplasty, according to a study that was halted because of a higher death rate among those getting the medication. Genentech, based in South San Francisco, and German partner Boehringer suspended the trial in April.

They were testing to see whether trying to open an artery with the clot-busting drug before getting angioplasty offered added benefit. Researchers presented the data at the meeting of the European Society of Cardiology.

The trial comparing outcomes of heart attack patients who received TNKase before angioplasty with those who had only angioplasty found TNKase patients had a significantly higher rate of bleeding.