Low Maintenance Dose Ticagrelor Versus Clopidogrel in Diabetes Patients Undergoing PCI

To date there is very little PD and pharmacokinetic (PK) data on the ticagrelor 60 mg bid dosing regimen. In particular, there is no prospective PK/PD study on this dosing regimen in patients with DM who are known to have impaired response to clopidogrel therapy. Since DM patients frequently require elective PCI due to chronic progression of CAD (and not solely because of an acute thrombotic complication), and clopidogrel remains the guideline recommended P2Y12 inhibiting therapy for these patients, understanding the PD effects of the ticagrelor 60 mg bid regimen in this setting is an unmet clinical need. This is also in light of the ongoing THEMIS trial which is specifically evaluating the impact of the ticagrelor 60 mg bid dosing regimen in type 2 DM patients without a prior major CV event.