Running behind Bristol Myers and J&J, Bayer inches forward in the next-gen blood thinner race

Over the weekend, Bayer took an intermediate step in its quest to chase down Bristol Myers Squibb and J&J in the next-generation blood thinner race.

In a Lancet paper published Sunday detailing a Phase II safety and dose-finding study, Bayer’s experimental drug asundexian reduced the number of bleeding events by 67% compared to Eliquis, a standard of care. Bayer’s next steps are to wrap up another Phase II, finalize the dose and push it into a Phase III study, likely by the end of this year, lead author Manesh Patel told Endpoints News.