In the largest stroke clinical trial ever run in Canada, researchers have shown Tenecteplase (TNK), a safe, well tolerated drug, commonly used as a clot buster for heart attacks, is an effective treatment for acute ischemic stroke. Led by researchers with the University of Calgary at the Foothills Medical Centre and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, the study included 1600 patients at hospitals throughout Canada.
“It is truly an important finding that I share with my colleagues from coast to coast. Through this collaboration these findings could revolutionize stroke treatment throughout the world,” says Dr. Bijoy Menon, MD, professor at the University of Calgary, neurologist at the Foothills Medical Centre and co-principal investigator on the study. “Tenecteplase is known to be an effective clot dissolving drug. It is very easy to administer which makes it a game changer when seconds count to save brain cells,”
Based on current guidelines, Alteplase (tPA) is the recommended drug for acute ischemic stroke patients. The challenge is that the drug is more complex to administer. It takes up to an hour and requires an infusion pump that needs to be monitored. The pump can be cumbersome when transporting a patient within a hospital, or to a major stroke center for treatment.
“One of the reasons Tenecteplase is so effective is that in can be administered as a single immediate dose,” says Dr. Rick Swartz, MD, PhD, clinician-researcher at the University of Toronto, co-principal investigator, and stroke neurologist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. “That’s a big advantage, saving critical time and complication. TNK could potentially be administered wherever the patient is seen first, at a medical centre or small hospital,”
The AcT Trial compared TNK to tPA in a randomized trial. The results published in The Lancet show that TNK worked as well as, if not better than, the current recommended drug, tPA. TNK attaches itself to the clot for a longer period of time than tPA which means that blood flow is restored faster and for a longer period of time. Along with discovering a better way to treat acute ischemic stroke, the team also established a more cost effective, and efficient way to conduct clinical trials.
The trial engaged patients and their families in study design and completed all enrolments during the pandemic when health systems were under significant stress. The study involved 22 primary and comprehensive stroke centers across Canada and was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Alberta Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR), Quality Improvement & Clinical Research Alberta Stroke Program (QuICR), Alberta Innovates, Heart & Stroke and the Canadian Stroke Consortium.
[KJ1]We will add a link to the study
Journal
The Lancet
Method of Research
Randomized controlled/clinical trial
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Intravenous tenecteplase compared with alteplase for acute ischaemic stroke in Canada (AcT): a pragmatic, multicentre, open-label, registry-linked, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial
Article Publication Date
29-Jun-2022
COI Statement
Declaration of Interests BKM has stock options in Circle NVI and has consulted for Biogen and Boehringer Ingelheim. SBC is principal investigator of the TEMPO-2 trial, for which Boehringer Ingelheim provides the study drug (tenecteplase). LC has received payments by Servier and consulting fees from Ischaemavie RAPID, Circle NV, and Canadian Medical Protective Association. JS has a grant from Medtronic to the University of Manitoba. AMD has received consulting fees from Medtronic and honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim. LCG is on advisory boards for AstraZeneca and Servier and has stock options in AstraZenca. ASh has received consulting fees from Bayer, Servier Canada, Daiichi Sanyko Compan, AstraZeneca, VarmX, and Takeda; honoraria from Bayer and Daiichi Sankyo; is on an advisory board for Bayer; and has stock options in Ensho. MDH has received consulting fees from Sun Pharma and Brainsgate and has stock options in FollowMD and receives salary support for research from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, Sandra Black Centre for Brain Resilience and Recovery and Ontario Brain Institute. All other authors declare no competing interests.