Launch of First Ever Global Registry for Acute Coronary Events

Barcelona, Spain, August 31, 1999 -- The Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) was officially launched today at the annual meeting of the European Society of Cardiology in Barcelona, Spain. The overall purpose of GRACE is to capture data on the complete spectrum of patients experiencing acute coronary syndromes (ACS) including long-term follow-up. GRACE will be the first global, population based, multicenter data collection registry.

"At present, no statistically valid and vigorously assessed data about treatment practice and outcome exist internationally. As the need for long-term care and monitoring of outcomes increases, data provided by GRACE is going to prove invaluable to health care professionals," said Professor Keith Fox, Department of Cardiology, The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, UK and

Co-Chair of the GRACE Scientific Steering committee. "GRACE is an exciting undertaking that will vastly improve ACS patient care," added

Co-Chair Professor Joel Gore, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, USA.

The GRACE registry is supported by an educational grant from Rhône-Poulenc Rorer, a leader in the field of antithrombotic medicine, and aims to improve patient care by providing cardiologists with a greater understanding of patient management and outcomes in the rapidly evolving field of ACS treatment. Physicians involved in the GRACE registry will be able to compare individual hospital management practices and outcomes to local, national and international practice patterns. The rigorous data from GRACE will allow physicians to identify the best ACS treatment practices, which will act as a benchmark for the future.

"GRACE is a demonstration of RPR’s commitment to the field of thrombosis, and our determination to continuously strive to improve the outcomes of patients with life-threatening acute coronary syndromes," said Gary T. Shearman, Ph.D. Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Drug Development, and Deputy Head, Research and Development, Rhône-Poulenc Rorer.

GRACE is an ongoing open ended registry that plans to collect data on patient care in 14 countries initially. Centers included in the registry have been chosen based on a careful evaluation of local demographics and care facilities. This population-based approach should ensure a representative sample of patients in each country.

Unlike clinical studies involving specific medications, treatment decisions for patients included in the GRACE registry will be at the discretion of the patient’s physician. As a result, data collected in the registry will reflect a ‘real-life’ approach to the diagnosis and treatment of ACS (unstable angina or myocardial infarction) patients.

Data captured will include patient characteristics at admission, clinical events, medications, procedures and discharge diagnoses. Moreover, 6 month follow-up data will be recorded. Data will be recorded by a designated study coordinator at each center and sent directly from the hospital to an independent data coordination center. Stringent data quality control has been built into the design to insure the consistency, quality, and accuracy of the data collected. Regular reports will be generated to provide feed back on practice patterns as they evolve.

The GRACE Scientific Committee and the European Society of Cardiology are actively discussing the formation of a collaboration between GRACE and the ESC project entitled the Euro Heart Survey. Both GRACE and the Euro Heart Survey will generate important information on the treatment of ACS patients.

The number of patients surviving acute coronary syndromes is likely to rise with the use of new drug therapies and non-drug interventions. GRACE will provide an invaluable contribution to the evaluation of treatment outcomes and patient care.

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Karen Scott, RPR Communications

tel: +33 1 55 71 76 22

fax: +33 1 55 71 43 83