HCRI completes enrollment in dual antiplatelet therapy clinical trial

The Harvard Clinical Research Institute (HCRI) announced today that the enrollment phase of the DAPT Study has been successfully completed. The DAPT Study is a four-year clinical trial investigating the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT, the combination of aspirin and a thienopyridine/antiplatelet medication to reduce the risk of blood clots) following drug-eluting stent implantations. The large-scale public health study is expected to bring clarity to the global medical community regarding the benefits of 12 versus 30 months of dual antiplatelet therapy in patients receiving drug-eluting stents to address coronary artery lesions. The American College of Cardiology/ American Heart Association currently recommend 12 months of dual antiplatelet therapy for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) following placement of a drug-eluting stent.

"The DAPT Study is a unique study designed to guide medical practice regarding the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy following a drug-eluting stent placement. A large randomized trial is required to provide definitive information, and the completion of enrollment is a major accomplishment toward this goal," said Laura Mauri, M.D., principal investigator of the DAPT Study, an interventional cardiologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA and chief scientific officer of Harvard Clinical Research Institute. "The rate of enrollment into the trial was higher than anticipated, as a result of enthusiastic clinical site participation worldwide. We remain on-target to announce the final Study results in late 2014."

Dr. Mauri and Dean Kereiakes, M.D., co-principal investigator of the DAPT Study, medical director of The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Center and The Carl and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education at The Christ Hospital, Cincinnati, will both give presentations relevant to the DAPT Study at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics 2011 conference:

• Dr. Mauri will deliver a lecture titled, "Pharmacotherapeutic Considerations to Reduce Stent Thrombosis II: DAPT Duration 6 vs. 12 vs. 24 Months - Review of Completed Trials and Insights from the DAPT Trial Enrollment," on November 7^th
• Dr. Mauri will also give a presentation called, "The DAPT Conundrum: The Trial and the Issues," on November 10^th
• Dr. Kereiakes will give a presentation called, "Dual Antiplatelet Therapy Conundrums: Loading, Duration, Agents and Point-of-Care Testing," on November 10^th