Goodbye to Andexanet Alfa (AndexxaⓇ)

Andexanet alfa (Andexxa) made its quiet exit from the U.S. market just a few weeks ago.  It's an interesting story so in case you missed it, I'll recap what andexanet alfa is, or rather was, and what happened that led to its removal.  Being pulled from the U.S. market may have come to a surprise for some considering its main study (ANNEXA-I) was stopped early for successfully meeting its main efficacy outcome. While having a trial stopped early for superior efficacy results sounds good on the surface, it can have negative ramifications on other aspects of the clinical inquiry (explained below).

"How it works" series: Midodrine

Midodrine is a peripherally-acting selective alpha1 receptor agonist.  Let's take that sentence apart to see what we should expect from this medication.  Being an alpha1 agonist, this means that it binds to the alpha1 receptor and activates it, causing it to perform the function that it would usually perform if its endogenous catecholamine (ie. norepinephrine) were to bind to it.