3 Key Takeaways From Portola Pharmaceuticals' Quarterly Results

A new class of anticoagulant drugs called factor Xa inhibitors have wrestled away significant market share from Warfarin, a decades-old drug widely used to prevent clots in heart disease patients and hip and knee surgery patients. However, until last year's approval of Portola Pharmaceuticals' (NASDAQ:PTLA) Andexxa, there wasn't an FDA-approved medication on the market to reverse their effect -- a dangerous proposition for patients at risk of falling or emergency surgery.