Study shows J&J’s Xarelto may cause more serious bleeding than Pradaxa.

Fierce Pharma (10/7, Helfand, 3K) reported on a study published in JAMA showing that Johnson & Johnson and Bayer’s Xarelto (rivaroxaban) may cause more serious bleeding than Boehringer Ingelheim’s Pradaxa (dabigatran). According to the study, Xarelto “was associated with significant increases in intracerebral hemorrhage and major extracranial bleeding.” The researchers also found that Xarelto was used up to three times more often than Pradaxa among American afib patients because “prescriber misperceptions about bleeding risks with dabigatran, arising from U.S. Food and Drug Administration receipt of a large number of postmarketing case reports following its approval.”