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PHILADELPHIA — An investigational drug aimed at preventing strokes significantly reduced the risk of bleeding compared with a commonly used blood thinner for stroke prevention, showing potential to be a safer alternative for patients.

Among patients with atrial fibrillation, an abnormal heart rhythm that increases the risk of stroke, abelacimab, developed by Anthos Therapeutics, cut the overall risk of bleeding by 67% compared to rivaroxaban, the blood thinner sold as Xarelto by Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

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The treatment, injected monthly, also reduced the risk of major bleeding events by 74% and gastrointestinal bleeding by 93%, according to Phase 2 results presented here Sunday at the American Heart Association conference.

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