Oc­taphar­ma wins FDA ap­proval for drug to ur­gent­ly re­verse ef­fects of blood thin­ners

The FDA ap­proved a new treat­ment op­tion for adult pa­tients who need an ur­gent re­ver­sal of blood thin­ners such as war­farin.

Oc­taphar­ma’s Bal­faxar is now cleared to help re­store blood co­ag­u­la­tion in pa­tients tak­ing war­farin and oth­er vi­t­a­min K an­tag­o­nists ahead of ur­gent surg­eries or oth­er in­va­sive pro­ce­dures. Blood thin­ners like war­farin are pre­scribed to more than 2.4 mil­lion Amer­i­cans at risk of blood clots, but the treat­ment puts those pa­tients at a high­er risk of heavy bleed­ing in surgery, Oc­taphar­ma said Wednes­day.

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