Asundexian for Secondary Stroke Prevention

Clinical Snapshot

Key Findings

• P Value: P<0.001

• Effect Size: 26% relative risk reduction for ischemic stroke

• Primary Outcome: Ischemic stroke incidence: 6.2% (asundexian) vs 8.4% (placebo)

• Nnt Or Sensitivity: NNT = 45 patients treated for 1 year to prevent 1 ischemic stroke

• Confidence Interval: 95% CI: 0.65 to 0.84

Clinical Application

Requires once-daily oral medication addition to existing antiplatelet regimen, with monitoring for bleeding complications Would require TGA approval and PBS listing consideration. Aligns with RACGP and Stroke Foundation guidelines for secondary prevention, potentially as add-on to current antiplatelet therapy Adults with recent noncardioembolic ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA with atherosclerotic features, suitable for antiplatelet therapy

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Patients with noncardioembolic ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA) are at risk for recurrent stroke. Low factor XI levels are associated with a reduced risk of ischemic stroke. Asundexian inhibits activated factor XI. Whether the addition of asundexian to antiplatelet therapy would be superior to antiplatelet therapy alone for the secondary prevention of ischemic stroke is unclear. METHODS: In this phase 3, double-blind trial, we randomly assigned patients within 72 hours after the onset of a noncardioembolic ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA to receive asundexian (50 mg once daily) or placebo, in addition to planned dual or single antiplatelet therapy. Patients had at least one of the following: a nonlacunar infarct on imaging, a history of atherosclerosis, or evidence of atherosclerotic plaque at any location on cerebrovascular imaging. The primary efficacy outcome was ischemic stroke. The composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or stroke was a key secondary outcome. The primary safety outcome was major bleeding. RESULTS: Among 12,327 patients who underwent randomization (6162 to the asundexian group and 6165 to the placebo group), the incidence of ischemic stroke was lower in the asundexian group than in the placebo group (6.2% vs. 8.4%; cause-specific hazard ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.65 to 0.84; P<0.001). The incidence of the composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, or stroke was lower in the asundexian group than in the placebo group. The incidence of major bleeding was similar in the asundexian group and the placebo group (1.9% and 1.7%, respectively; cause-specific hazard ratio, 1.10; 95% CI, 0.85 to 1.44). The incidence of adverse events was 69.3% in the asundexian group and 70.1% in the placebo group; the incidence of serious adverse events was 19.2% and 19.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Among patients with noncardioembolic ischemic stroke or high-risk TIA treated with antiplatelet therapy, asundexian at a daily dose of 50 mg resulted in lower risks of ischemic stroke and major cardiovascular events than placebo, without a higher risk of major bleeding. (Funded by Bayer; OCEANIC-STROKE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT05686070.).

References

1. 1.Sharma, M., Dong, Q., Hirano, T., Kasner, S. E., Saver, J. L., Masjuan, J., Demchuk, A. M., Cordonnier, C., Bereczki, D., Tsivgoulis, G., Veltkamp, R., Staikov, I., Bae, H.-J., Campbell, B. C. V., Zini, A., Lee, I.-H., Kovar, M., Mikulik, R., Lemmens, R., ... Shoamanesh, A. (2026). Asundexian for secondary stroke prevention. New England Journal of Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2513880