Plavix
An antiplatelet medicine to prevent heart attack and stroke.
Where Clopidogrel is approved
All regulators →Of the three regulators tracked here, the first to approve Clopidogrel was the EU, on 14 Jul 1998.
From the regulators' own registers: FDA Drugs@FDA, the EMA medicines list and Health Canada's Notice of Compliance database. Dates are the first listed approval of a product containing only this substance; combination products and nationally authorised EU medicines are not counted.
What health systems spend on Clopidogrel
All medicines →From NHSBSA Prescription Cost Analysis (Open Government Licence v3.0) and CMS State Drug Utilization Data. Both are gross amounts: neither system publishes its discounts or rebates per drug. Products combining several substances are not counted here.
How Clopidogrel works
All drug targets →- Purinergic receptor P2Y12 antagonist AntagonistTarget: P2RY12 purinergic receptor P2Y12ChEMBL only
- Arterial thrombosisPhase 3
- COVID-19Phase 3
- Myocardial necrosisPhase 3
- Non-ST Elevation Myocardial InfarctionPhase 3
- ST Elevation Myocardial InfarctionPhase 3
- Acute myocardial infarctionPhase 3
- Age-related macular degenerationPhase 3
- Angina pectorisPhase 3
- Angina unstablePhase 3
- Aortic stenosisPhase 3
Mechanisms and diseases from ChEMBL via the Open Targets Platform (release 26.09), ChEMBL record CHEMBL1771, CC BY-SA 3.0. Targets checked against the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (2026.3), ligand 7150, CC BY-SA 4.0. Trial phases are not approvals: approved uses are shown from the regulators' own records where we hold them.
NICE appraisals of Clopidogrel
All NICE appraisals →NICE, which decides whether the NHS in England should fund new medicines, has published 3 technology appraisals of Clopidogrel. 2 are current, and 2 of these recommend it for at least some patients. 1 older appraisal was replaced or withdrawn.
| Appraisal | NICE recommendation | Published | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clopidogrel and modified-release dipyridamole for the prevention of occlusive vascular events NICE TA210 | Recommended Optimised | 15 Dec 2010 | Current |
| Clopidogrel and modified-release dipyridamole in the prevention of occlusive vascular events NICE TA90 | Optimised | 25 May 2005 | Current |
NICE decisions apply to the NHS in England. In Ireland the HSE decides on reimbursement, advised by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics. Titles, categories and dates link to the guidance on nice.org.uk. © NICE 2026 technology appraisal guidance. Available from www.nice.org.uk/guidance. All rights reserved. Subject to Notice of rights. NICE guidance is prepared for the National Health Service in England. All NICE guidance is subject to regular review and may be updated or withdrawn. NICE accepts no responsibility for the use of its content in this product/publication.
Patient leaflets for Clopidogrel
The package leaflet is the official guide for patients that comes with every medicine. These links go to the regulators that publish it.
- IEIreland: 12 products on the HPRA listEach product record links to the HPRA, which publishes the leaflet and SmPC.
- EUEuropean Union: Clopidogrel Zentiva (previously Clopidogrel Winthrop), Iscover, Plavix, Clopidogrel BGR (previously Zylagren) (generic), Clopidogrel HCS (generic), Clopidogrel Krka (generic), Clopidogrel Krka d.d. (previously Zopya) (generic), Clopidogrel TAD (generic) and 4 moreEMA product information: package leaflet and summary of product characteristics in every EU language.
- UKUnited Kingdom: Search MHRA ProductsPatient information leaflets and SmPCs for UK-licensed products.
- USUnited States: Search DailyMedFDA-approved labels, including patient and medication guides.
Leaflets differ between brands and countries; always read the one that comes with your own medicine. This is regulatory information, not medical advice.
Reference identifiers for Clopidogrel
- ATC code
- B01AC04
- ChEMBL
- CHEMBL1771
- DrugBank
- DB00758
- PubChem CID
- 60606
- CAS number
- 113665-84-2
- FDA UNII
- A74586SNO7
- Wikidata
- Q410237
- Wikipedia
- Clopidogrel
Codes that identify this medicine in other databases, from Wikidata (CC0), matched by its ChEMBL ID. The ATC code is the WHO classification of what the medicine is used for.
What Plavix is used for
Plavix is a P2Y 12 platelet inhibitor indicated for: Acute coronary syndrome – For patients with non–ST-segment elevation ACS (unstable angina [UA]/non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction [NSTEMI]), Plavix has been shown to reduce the rate of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke. ( 1.1 ) – For patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), Plavix has been shown to reduce the rate of MI and stroke. ( 1.1 ) Recent MI, recent stroke, or established peripheral arterial disease. Plavix has been shown to reduce the rate of MI and stroke. ( 1.2 ) 1.1 Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) Plavix is indicated to reduce the rate of myocardial infarction (MI) and stroke in patients with non–ST-segment elevation ACS (unstable angina [UA]/non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction [NSTEMI]), including patients who are to be managed medically and those who are to be managed with coronary revasculariza…
How it works
12.1 Mechanism of Action Clopidogrel is an inhibitor of platelet activation and aggregation through the irreversible binding of its active metabolite to the P2Y 12 class of ADP receptors on platelets.
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How this page is built
The facts on this page are pulled directly from official U.S. FDA datasets — they are not written from memory. Each field below names the dataset it came from, so you can check it yourself.
- FDA Drug Label (openFDA) ↗ Indications, mechanism of action and pharmacologic class
- Drugs@FDA ↗ First FDA approval date and the company holding the application
- FDA Drug Shortage Database ↗ Current US supply / shortage status
Plain-English summaries and drug-class explainers are written and reviewed by Sreepriya Prasannan (MSc Digital Transformation of Life Sciences (Innopharma Education / Griffith College); MSc & BSc Botany). Data is retrieved automatically from the sources above and cross-checked with AI-assisted verification (Anthropic's Claude) — brand and generic names are matched against the exact FDA product record so that a combination product or a different formulation cannot be mistaken for the drug on this page. An editor reviews the result before publication. We describe this in full in our editorial standards and corrections policy. The FDA data on this page was last retrieved on 10 Oct 2026. How every register is built: methodology · fixes we have made: corrections log.