Sticky platelets in the blood often group together to form blood clots that can result in heart attacks — a definite concern during or soon after cardiovascular procedures such as angioplasty and stent placement. However, these risks are greatly reduced today because of a groundbreaking discovery in the early 1980s at the Stony Brook University School of Medicine in Long Island, N.Y.
While conducting research on platelet behavior, Barry Coller, M.D. (now physician-in-chief at Rockefeller University in New York), produced an antibody that inhibits platelets from sticking together.
Further research showed the antibody was more effective than aspirin in preventing abnormal platelet aggregation in animal models.
Much of the funding for this early research was provided by the National Institutes of Health. In 1994, after 13 years of research and testing, the FDA approved the drug abciximab (Centocor/Lilly), which is based on this antibody.
Abciximab is the first therapeutic drug derived from research in The State University of New York system and is licensed to Centocor Inc., an international biotechnology company specializing in antibody production and technology. Today Centocor/Lilly sells abciximab under the name ReoPro™.
More than two million people have been treated with ReoPro as a preventative measure during cardiovascular procedures, such as angioplasty and stent placement.
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