Cost a barrier to use of Plavix

Drug Store News, Sept 21, 1998 by Kendall R.Ph. Shaw

Plavix (clopidrogel), "super-aspirin," approved in 1997 as a platelet inhibitor for the treatment of unstable angina and prevention of stroke, may be three times more effective at prevention of heart attack and stroke while causing less of the bleeding and none of the loss in platelet aggregation seen with aspirin. In spite of its significant advantages, though, its $2 per-day patient cost is seen as a primary reason for its being prescribed only rarely. With aspirin's almost negligible cost, most physicians seem to prefer the old stand-by over the more costly but clearly superior alternative.

(Source: MSNBC-http://www.msnbc.com/news/1899 75.asp#BODY)