Efficacy

ESPS 2 Secondary Endpoint: TIA (Pairwise Comparison)

An important observation in ESPS 2 is that antiplatelet therapy cannot only prevent stroke but also lower the incidence of TIA in patients at risk. The observed risk reduction vs. placebo for TIA was 35.9% for ER-DP and ASA, 20.1% for ER-DP alone, and 24.5% for ASA alone. The combination of ER-DP and ASA revealed a relative risk reduction of 15.2% as compared to ASA alone. The overall magnitude of prevention is the same for TIA and stroke (see Slide ESPS 2: Effects on Stroke - Relative Risk Reduction in this section).

In conclusion, optimal secondary preventative treatment of stroke and/or TIA appears to be the combination therapy of ER-DP and ASA, with the fallback position of using the one in case of intolerance of the other.