Monotherapy With P2Y12 Inhibitors in Patients With Atrial fIbrillation Undergoing Supraflex Stent Implantation (MATRIX-2)

Monotherapy With a P2Y12 Inhibitor Followed by a Direct-acting Oral Anticoagulant in Patients With ATRial fIbrillation Undergoing suprafleX Cruz Coronary Stent Implantation

Patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention with stent implantation require treatment with different antithrombotic drugs. Oral anticoagulants are prescribed to reduce the risk of stroke associated with atrial fibrillation. Antiplatelet substances are prescribed after stent implantation to reduce the risk of adverse cardiac events such as myocardial infarction or stent thrombosis. Treatment with antithrombotic medications can cause bleeding complications, particularly when these substances are combined.

The currently recommended standard strategy consists of treatment with 3 antithrombotic medications for at least 1 week up to one month, followed by treatment with two of these medications for up to 6-12 months after stent implantation. Thereafter, patients usually receive long-term treatment with only one drug, an anticoagulant.

In the monotherapy group of this study, the investigators will investigate a strategy where only one antithrombotic drug will be used at a time. During the first month after stent implantation, the investigators will prescribe an antiplatelet medication, followed by an oral anticoagulant as monotherapy. This strategy might be associated with fewer bleeding complications, while protecting adequately against thrombotic events.

In this study the investigators would like to investigate whether treatment with a single antithrombotic drug ("monotherapy strategy") is associated with benefits compared to the currently recommended combination therapy of antithrombotic medications ("standard-of-care strategy").

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Atrial Fibrillation (AF); Oral Anticoagulation; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI); P2Y12 Inhibitor
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: DOAC; Drug: Aspirin; Drug: P2Y12 inhibitor

Detailed Description

Background:

The optimal antithrombotic treatment following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) requiring long-term oral anticoagulation remains a matter of debate. In particular, the appropriate intensity and duration of antithrombotic strategies to prevent ischemic events, while mitigating the risk of bleeding complications in this high bleeding risk population during the early peri-procedural period (within 30 days) and thereafter (from 30 days to 1 year) following drug-eluting stent implantation remains unclear.

Aim:

The investigators aim to assess the safety and efficacy of a P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy regimen for 1 month followed by DOAC monotherapy long-term versus current standard of care consisting of triple antithrombotic therapy for up to one month (aspirin, P2Y12 inhibitor and DOAC) followed by dual antithrombotic therapy (P2Y12 inhibitor and DOAC) for 6 to 12 months and DOAC monotherapy thereafter, in AF patients undergoing PCI indicated for treatment with a DOAC after sirolimus-eluting Supraflex Cruz stent implantation and followed for a period of 12 months.

Methodology:

This investigator-initiated, multi-center, randomized, open-label, blinded evaluation, international clinical trial in 3010 AF patients with indication for long-term oral anticoagulation who have undergone successful PCI with Supraflex Cruz sirolimus-eluting biodegradable polymer cobalt chromium stent implantation. The study will be conducted at approximately 150 sites across Europe and Brazil. Patients will be randomized to the antithrombotic monotherapy (experimental antithrombotic strategy) or the standard of care strategy (control group) in a 1:1 ratio. Randomization is stratified by site, acute coronary syndrome (ACS) within the previous 6 months and CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥4. Patients randomized to the antithrombotic monotherapy treatment receive any of the commercially available oral P2Y12 inhibitors (clopidogrel, ticagrelor, prasugrel) and immediately discontinue aspirin and DOAC. After 1 month, the P2Y12 inhibitor will be stopped and treatment with a commercially available DOAC will be initiated for the duration of 11 months. Patients randomized to the standard of care strategy will initiate triple therapy for up to 1 month followed by dual anti-thrombotic therapy (consisting of P2Y12 inhibitor for a minimum of 6 and up to 12 months plus DOAC for at least 12 months).

Potential significance:

This is the first study investigation the impact of a short course of P2Y12 inhibitor monotherapy up to 1 month, while omitting clopidogrel non-responders, and temporarily omitting OAC, after stent implantation followed by OAC monotherapy in AF patients undergoing PCI. This sequential monotherapy treatment strategy has solid rational and carries potential to balance bleeding against cardiac and cerebral ischemic risks.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 3010
• Phase: Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Stephan Windecker, Prof.; Phone Number: +41 31 632 44 97; Email: Stephan.Windecker@insel.ch
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Marco Valgimigli, Prof; Phone Number: +41 91 805 31 11; Email: Marco.Valgimigli@eoc.ch

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Hasselt, Belgium, 3500
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Hartcentrum Hasselt
    • Contact: Pascal Vranckx, Prof; Email: pascal.vranckx@jessazh.be
• France
  • Nîmes, France, 30029
    • Not yet recruiting
    • CHU Nîmes
    • Contact: Guillaume Cayla, Prof; Email: cayla.guillaume@gmail.com
• Germany
  • Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 60590
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt/Main
    • Contact: David M. Leistner, Prof; Email: david.leistner@kgu.de
  • Friedrichshafen, Germany, 88048
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Klinikum Friedrichshafen
    • Contact: Julia Seeger, Priv.-Doz.; Email: seeger.julia@medizincampus.de
• Italy
  • Catania CT
    • Catania, Catania CT, Italy, 95124
      • Not yet recruiting
      • Ospedale Ferrarotto
      • Contact: Davide F.M. Capodanno, Prof; Email: dcapodanno@gmail.com
  • Rozzano
    • Milan, Rozzano, Italy, 20089
      • Not yet recruiting
      • IRCCS Humanitas
      • Contact: Giulio Stefanini, Prof; Email: giulio.stefanini@hunimed.eu
• Netherlands
  • Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1081
    • Not yet recruiting
    • UMC public
    • Contact: Joanna J. Wykrzykowska, PhD; Email: j.j.wykrzykowska@umcg.nl
• Poland
  • Poznan, Poland, 61-701
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu
    • Contact: Maciej Lesiak, Prof; Email: maciej.lesiak@skpp.edu.pl
• Spain
  • Santander, Spain, 39008
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla
    • Contact: Josè M. De La Torre Hernandez, MD; Email: josemariadela.torre@scsalud.es
• Switzerland
  • Basel, Switzerland, 4031
    • Recruiting
    • Universitatsspital Basel
    • Contact: Christoph Kaiser, Prof; Email: christoph.kaiser@usb.ch
    • Contact: Gregor Leibundgut, Prof; Email: gregor.leibundgut@usb.ch
  • Bern, Switzerland, 3010
    • Recruiting
    • Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Department of Cardiology
    • Contact: Stephan Windecker, Prof; Phone Number: +41 31 63 2 44 97; Email: Stephan.Windecker@insel.ch
    • Contact: André Frenk, PhD; Phone Number: + 41 31 632 19 16; Email: andre.frenk@insel.ch
  • Geneva, Switzerland, 1211
    • Recruiting
    • Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève
    • Contact: Marco Roffi, Prof; Phone Number: +41 22 372 75 31; Email: marco.roffi@hcuge.ch
  • Zurich, Switzerland, 8091
    • Recruiting
    • University Hospital Zurich
    • Contact: Barbara Elisabeth Stähli, Prof; Phone Number: 0041 43 253 05 97; Email: barbara.staehli@usz.ch
  • Canton Ticino
    • Lugano, Canton Ticino, Switzerland, 6900
      • Recruiting
      • Cardiocentro Ticino Institute
      • Contact: Marco Valgimigli, Prof; Phone Number: +41 91 805 31 11; Email: Marco.Valgimigli@eoc.ch
      • Contact: Daniel Sürder, MD; Email: daniel.suerder@eoc.ch
• United Kingdom
  • London, United Kingdom, SW7 2AZ
    • Not yet recruiting
    • Imperial College London
    • Contact: Diana Gorog, Prof; Email: d.gorog@imperial.ac.uk

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age ≥18 years
• Atrial fibrillation or flutter with an indication for oral anticoagulation using direct-acting oral anticoagulants (DOACs) for ≥12 months
• Successful percutaneous coronary intervention in at least 1 lesion within the previous 7 days with no remaining lesions intended for treatment.
• Free from major adverse events post qualifying PCI, including new onset chest pain suspected to be of ischemic origin, acute or subacute stent thrombosis, new-onset neurological signs or symptoms.
• Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

• Planned staged percutaneous intervention procedure (Patients can be enrolled after complete coronary revascularization with no remaining lesions intended for treatment. Patients who have or develop indication to percutaneous valve intervention can undergo treatment more than 30 days after qualifying PCI.)
• Cardioversion for treatment of atrial fibrillation within 1 month prior to inclusion or planned cardioversion
• AF ablation procedure within 2 months prior to inclusion or planned AF ablation procedure
• Prior mechanical valvular prosthesis implantation
• Deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism, at least moderately severe mitral stenosis or other clinical conditions than atrial fibrillation requiring long-term oral anticoagulation
• Stroke within 1 month prior to randomization
• Hemodynamic instability (persistent systolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg, continuous infusions of catecholamines, clinical signs of hypoperfusion and/or use of percutaneous left ventricular assist devices)
• Uncontrolled severe hypertension with a systolic blood pressure (BP) ≥180 mmHg and/or diastolic BP ≥120 mmHg
• Severe renal impairment with estimated creatinine clearance (CrCL) <15 mL/min or on dialysis
• Moderate or severe hepatic impairment (Child-Pugh Class B or C) or any hepatic disease associated with coagulopathy
• Any hypersensitivity or contraindications for direct oral anticoagulation or dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and a P2Y12 inhibitor
• Any of the following abnormal local laboratory results prior to randomization: platelet count <50 x109/L or hemoglobin <8 g/dL
• Known pregnancy or breast-feeding patients
• Life expectancy <1 year due to other severe non-cardiac disease
• Planned surgery including coronary artery bypass grafting within the next 6 months

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Monotherapy strategy; Patients randomized to the monotherapy treatment arm receive any of the commercially available oral P2Y12 inhibitors (clopidogrel, prasugrel oder ticagrelor) and immediately discontinue aspirin and DOAC (or will not re-start DOAC after PCI if treatment was temporarily stopped before). After 1 month, the P2Y12 inhibitor will be stopped and treatment with a commercially available DOAC (at investigator's discretion and dosed according to the instructions for use in patients with atrial fibrillation) will be initiated for the duration of 11 months. After completion of the 12-month study regimen (study visit), the patient will receive antithrombotic therapy according to routine care.	Drug: DOAC; The choice of DOAC is left at investigator's discretion.; Drug: P2Y12 inhibitor; The choice of P2Y12 inhibitor is left at investigator's discretion.
Active Comparator: Standard of care strategy; Patients randomized to the standard of care, receive DOAC for at least 12 months. In addition, aspirin is administered for up to 1 month after PCI at investigator's discretion and one of the available P2Y12 inhibitors (clopidogrel, prasugrel oder ticagrelor at investigator's discretion) is administered for a minimum of 6 months and up to 12 months after PCI. After completion of the 12-month control arm regimen (study visit), the patients will be treated according to routine care.	Drug: DOAC; The choice of DOAC is left at investigator's discretion.; Drug: Aspirin; Aspirin is administered for up to 1 month after PCI at investigator's discretion; Drug: P2Y12 inhibitor; The choice of P2Y12 inhibitor is left at investigator's discretion.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
The number of participants with a major adverse cardiac or cerebral events (MACCE), defined as the composite of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, stroke or non-central nervous system (non-CNS) systemic embolism	12 months
The number of participants with a major or clinically relevant non-major bleeding (MCB), defined according to the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) criteria	12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
The incidence of MACCE or MCB	MACCE, defined as the composite of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, stroke or non-CNS systemic embolism and MCB, defined according to the ISTH criteria	12 months
The incidence of MACCE or MCB	MACCE, defined as the composite of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, stroke or non-CNS systemic embolism and MCB, defined according to the ISTH criteria	15 months
The number of participants with a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction or stroke		12 months
The number of participants with a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction or stroke		15 months
The number of participants with a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, stroke or non-CNS systemic embolism		12 months
The number of participants with a composite of death from cardiovascular causes, myocardial infarction, stroke or non-CNS systemic embolism		15 months
The number of participants died from cardiovascular or non-cardiovascular causes		12 months
The number of participants died from cardiovascular or non-cardiovascular causes		15 months
The number of participants with a composite of stroke and non-CNS systemic embolism		12 months
The number of participants with a composite of stroke and non-CNS systemic embolism		15 months
The number of participants with any stroke (including ischemic, hemorrhagic and unknown types)		12 months
The number of participants with any stroke (including ischemic, hemorrhagic and unknown types)		15 months
The number of participants with an ischaemic stroke		12 months
The number of participants with an ischaemic stroke		15 months
The number of participants with a hemorrhagic stroke		12 months
The number of participants with a hemorrhagic stroke		15 months
The number of participants with a transient ischemic attack		12 months
The number of participants with a transient ischemic attack		15 months
The number of participants with a composite of definite or probable stent thrombosis		12 months
The number of participants with a composite of definite or probable stent thrombosis		15 months
The number of participants with a definite stent thrombosis		12 months
The number of participants with a definite stent thrombosis		15 months
The number of participants with a hospitalization		12 months
The number of participants with a hospitalization		15 months
The number of participants with a composite of death or hospitalization		12 months
The number of participants with a composite of death or hospitalization		15 months
The number of participants with any target lesion revascularization		12 months
The number of participants with any target lesion revascularization		15 months
The number of participants with any target vessel revascularization		12 months
The number of participants with any target vessel revascularization		15 months
The number of participants with any revascularization		12 months
The number of participants with any revascularization		15 months
Transfusion rates both in patients with and/or without clinically detected overt bleeding		12 months
Transfusion rates both in patients with and/or without clinically detected overt bleeding		15 months
The number of participants with a major adverse cardiac or cerebral events (MACCE), defined as the composite of death from any cause, myocardial infarction, stroke or non-central nervous system (non-CNS) systemic embolism		15 months
The number of all bleeding events, also adjudicated according to Bleeding Academic Research Consortium, Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction or Global Use of Strategies to Open Occluded Coronary Arteries scales	The BARC is scaled from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating worse outcomes, the TIMI from minor to major to fatal bleeding, and the GUSTO from mild to moderate to severe or life-threatening.	12 months
The number of all bleeding events, also adjudicated according to Bleeding Academic Research Consortium, Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction or Global Use of Strategies to Open Occluded Coronary Arteries scales	The BARC is scaled from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating worse outcomes, the TIMI from minor to major to fatal bleeding, and the GUSTO from mild to moderate to severe or life-threatening.	15 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Insel Gruppe AG, University Hospital Bern
• Collaborators: Sahajanand Medical Technologies Limited
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Stephan Windecker, Prof, Bern University Hospital, Department of Cardiology; Principal Investigator: Marco Valgimigli, Prof, Cardiocentro Ticino Institute

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 18, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 28, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 12, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): July 21, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 8, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 7, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cardiovascular Diseases; Pathologic Processes; Heart Diseases; Arrhythmias, Cardiac; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Atrial Fibrillation; Organic Chemicals; Hydrocarbons; Hydrocarbons, Cyclic; Hydrocarbons, Aromatic; Phenols; Benzene Derivatives; Salicylates; Hydroxybenzoates; Aspirin
• Other Study ID Numbers: MATRIX-2

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No