IN FOCUS 12 YOUR UNIVERSITY | 2019/2020
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esearchers and clinicians from Sheffield were instrumental in the development of ticagrelor, a drug that reduces the risk of blood clots in heart attack patients. It has saved the lives of thousands of people around the world since its discovery over 20 years ago. Ticagrelor improves on clopidogrel, previously the standard treatment for heart attack patients. Rob Storey, Professor of Cardiology at the University and Honorary Consultant in Cardiology at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, was keenly aware of clopidogrel’s shortcomings and the need for something better. Pharmaceutical company Astra (later AstraZeneca) were working on a new intravenous anti-clotting therapy known as cangrelor. Professor Storey became the first researcher outside Astra with access to this drug, which showed a more consistent and reliable response in different blood samples – potentially a major step forward from clopidogrel. He was also the first doctor to administer cangrelor to a patient, in the late 1990s. He then worked with Astra on the development of an oral alternative to cangrelor, namely ticagrelor, which can be prescribed for long-term treatment. He was adviser to a complex study involving over 18,000 heart attack patients in 43 different countries. Results showed that ticagrelor reduced mortality rates in patients from five to four per cent – preventing one in five deaths.
The study opened the way for ticagrelor to be approved in 2011 by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence as a cost-effective treatment for heart attack patients. South Yorkshire was one of the first areas in the world to adopt the drug, and it is now the main anti-clotting treatment for heart attack across the UK and many other countries. Professor Storey was subsequently involved in another international study in over 21,000 patients, which showed that tricagelor treatment over many years can further reduce the risk of recurrent heart attack. Research continues at Sheffield. Dr Wael Sumaya is focused on reducing mortality rates among the 20 per cent of patients who still don’t respond to post-heart attack treatment. Dr William Parker is looking at whether a lower dose of aspirin may be more effective for long-term treatment when combined with tricagelor.
Results showed that ticagrelor reduced mortality rates in patients from five to four per cent – preventing one in five deaths.”
CREDIT: TIMM CLEASBY
R E S E A R C H
A life-saving drug for heart attack patients
