Biotech Values

[iwfal]

Anticoagulation guidelines should be updated soon (probably early next year), the novel anticoagulants will be reflected and their use should be boosted.

I agree with both of the following:

A) that in the near future (next year or two) the SOC (both in Europe and the US) for atrial fib anti-coag drugs will be something other than warfarin.

B) that even sooner than the above timeframe the majority of patients with atrial fib being prescribed their first anti-coag will get non-warfarin. This may have already happened (and this was part of the question I was asking) - but I don't know.

What I found surprising was dew's contention that the majority of atrial fib patients (the combo of newly diagnosed, long term users, ...) taking an anti-coag are, as of, say, Aug 2012, already taking a non-warfarin anti-coag. It implies a high rate of switching in just a year or two of patients that have been successfully taking warfarin for, on average, many years.

Why do I care? Because if the switch did happen as quickly as dew believes then I would like to know what factor (cultural? Political? Budgetary? Patient preference? ...) I miscalibrated and why doctors are able to live with such drawbacks as lack of reversibility and age related issues (I know for a fact that doctors in the US are leery of precisely these issues)

PS Haven't read Dew's response yet. Taking them one at a time after regaining I internet contract.