Factor XI

Excellent.

So I think it would be useful, Dr. Sharma, to have a bit of a discussion on why is factor XI a good target to reduce ischemic stroke, and what is Ascendaxian?

Look, those are great questions as to how this whole trial came about.

I'll tell you where it started in our minds was we did a trial called COMPAS, which is a low dose of rivaroxaban, 2.5 milligrams BID.

We had a lot of difficulty getting the trial funded.

There were concerns about hemorrhage.

And it was at that point, talking to colleagues here at PHRI and thrombosis, that we were introduced to Factor XI inhibitors.

Now, the background of that thing is really quite interesting.

Absolutely, Kathy.

There was continued interest at both meetings around more individualized antithrombotic strategies and the evolving role of Factor XIa inhibition.

What do you find most compelling about that approach, specifically the recent Oceanic Stroke trial, which looked at the Factor XIa inhibitor, Asindexian?

I think what's really exciting about this new class of medications, the factor 11 inhibitors, is that they reduce the risk of a recurrent stroke without increasing the bleeding risk.

This is really exciting because what we've always been most concerned about is not wanting to add medications if they were going to increase the patient's risk of bleeding.