Bayer and MSD’s chronic heart failure drug meets main goal at Phase 3
pharmafile | November 19, 2019 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Research and Development | Bayer, MSD, pharma, vericiguat
MSD and Bayer have made it known that their jointly-developed soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator vericiguat met its primary endpoint as a therapy to treat patients experiencing worsening chronic heart failure.
Phase 3 data from the VICTORIA study revealed that the pair’s therapy, when combined with available heart failure therapies, successfully reduced the risk of hospitalisation or cardiovascular death as a result of chronic heart failure compared to placebo in patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).
“Heart failure affects more than 60 million patients worldwide. Despite advances in therapies and prevention efforts, the cardiovascular event rates remain high,” said Dr Joerg Moeller, member of the Executive Committee of Bayer AG’s Pharmaceutical Division and Head of Research and Development. “There is a high unmet need for new treatment options to reduce the risk of death and hospitalisations. We are pleased with the positive outcome with vericiguat as the first sGC stimulator evaluated in patients with worsening chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.”
Dr Roy Baynes, Senior Vice President and Head of Global Clinical Development, Chief Medical Officer at MSD, also commented: “VICTORIA is the first large contemporary outcomes study to focus exclusively on a population with worsening chronic heart failure who have a high risk for cardiovascular mortality and repeated heart failure hospitalisations. We are pleased vericiguat met this primary endpoint and look forward to sharing the detailed findings of the study.”
The pair confirmed that full results from the study will be made public at a 2020 medical conference.
Matt Fellows
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