Xarelto
Xarelto is manufactured and marketed by Bayer and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. It’s primarily used as a preventative measure against blood clotting and strokes in patients suffering from nonvavular atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, as well as those that have had hip and knee replacement surgery. Unlike its predecessor, Camoudin the use of Xarelto does not require any dietary restrictions or monthly blood tests, which makes it convenient to use. It works by inhibiting the activity of the clotting factor factor Xa, which prevents the production of thrombin. Xarelto is rapidly absorbed and reaches peak activity 2-4 hrs after being administered. Some of the medication is removed unchanged by the kidneys. Xarelto, however, lacks an antidote to counteract its action and cannot be removed by dialysis. This has resulted in lawsuits being filed against Bayer and Janssen Phamarceuticals because users of Xarelto were either hospitalized or died from excessive bleeding while on the medication. Fortunately for Xarelto, it has a short half-life of 4-9 hrs of activity compared to camoudin’s 40 hrs. Unlike Camoudin, Xarelto comes in standardized doses that must be taken with food to increase absorption. Xarelto can be split, chewed, or crushed before being consumed.
Eliquis
Eliquis is manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb and was brought onto the market about a year after Xarelto was released. Being of the same drug class as Xarelto, Eliquis is similarly used as a preventative treatment against blood clotting and strokes in patients suffering from nonvavular atrial fibrillation, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, as well as those that have had hip and knee replacement surgery. But Eliquis stands out from Xarelto because while using Eliquis there is significantly less risk of major bleeding or hemorrhagic stroke occurring. It shares the same mechanism of actions as Xarelto, inhibiting factor Xa to prevent the production of thrombin. Another benefit of Eliquis is that it can be used without the need for dietary restrictions or monthly blood tests, which makes it convenient to use. Once consumed Eliquis is rapidly absorbed and reaches peak activity in 3-4 hrs but only about 25% of the administered dose is removed by the kidneys. One major shortcoming of Eliquis is its lack of an antidote, so when a bleeding event occurs there is no way of counteracting the drug’s effect. But to its merit Eliquis does have a short half-life of 12 hrs as such bleeding events can often be managed by discontinuing the use of the medication. Unlike Xarelto it must be taken twice daily but can be consumed with or without food. And similar to Xarelto it can be split, chewed, or crushed before being consumed.
