FDA approves first drug that reverses effect of new blood-thinner

by Tom Avril

Published Oct. 16, 2015, 2:05 p.m. ET

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved the first drug that will reverse the effects of the blood-thinner Pradaxa, based on the results of a trial led by a Pennsylvania Hospital physician.

The drug, called Praxbind, can be given to patients who suffer from emergency bleeding, the agency said.

It reverses the effects of Pradaxa, one of several newer blood-thinners, which are formally known as anticoagulants.

These drugs are used to prevent the formation of dangerous clots, and are given to patients with atrial fibrillation, among other conditions.

But by making the patient's blood "thinner," these drugs also raise the risk of bleeding.

The study of Praxbind, the reversal agent, was led by Charles Pollack, who was at Pennsylvania Hospital at the time and has since moved to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.