According to reports, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Bayer and Johnson & Johnson’s oral anticoagulant Xarelto, which is used to prevent deep vein thrombosis, that tends to lead to a pulmonary embolism in people that are having knee or hip replacement surgery.

Also, the drug is approved under the condition that it will be used at a ‘10mg dose, with one tablet taken once a day for 35 days following hip replacement and for 12 days following knee replacement surgery’.

However, in the trials, the drugs displayed similar safety effects, such as low rates of major bleeding, and Bayer pointed out that Xarelto is the first new oral anticoagulant with US approval in venous thromboembolism prophylaxis meant for patients having knee or hip replacement surgery.

Paul Chang, Vice President of Medical Affairs at J&J’s subsidiary Janssen, stated, “Shorter hospital stays following hip and knee replacement surgeries have made the prevention of venous blood clots an outpatient issue, and Xarelto provides a safe and effective oral treatment option that can be easily transitioned from use in hospital to home”.

Moreover, though the knee and hip surgery approval is said to be ‘a good news’, other ‘lucrative indications are being targeted’, in Europe, the USA and Japan, where requests have been submitted for the approval of Xarelto, to prevent stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation.