Timely use of Novartis’ Entresto could prevent/delay over 28,000 US deaths a year – study
pharmafile | June 23, 2016 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing |Â Â Entresto, JAMA Cardiology, Novartis, drug trial, researchÂ
A timely switch to Novartis’ (VTX: NOVN) heart failure drug Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) in patients could prevent or delay more than 28,000 deaths each year in the US, according to a report published in JAMA Cardiology.
The analysis is based on an application of the results of PARADIGM-HF to published heart failure statistics, is the first to quantify the possible impact of Entresto’s potential benefit in reducing death.
Vas Narasimhan, chief medical officer for Novartis, said: “This analysis demonstrates that Entresto can save the lives of thousands of patients every year if used in all eligible heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Entresto has now independently received a class I recommendation in clinical guidelines and was shown in multiple analysis to be cost effective so physicians and health care systems should feel confident in ensuring rapid and broad use of this breakthrough medicine.”
Further, the study suggests that delaying routine use of Entresto in clinical practice could have a substantial negative effect on patients, given the expected risk-benefit profile, as it could result in failure to prevent tens of thousands of deaths.
The study authors said nearly 84% of patients – 2.2 million people – may be candidates for treatment with Entresto.
In a separate analysis published in the same issue of JAMA Cardiology, researchers compared Entresto to the ACE-inhibitor enalapril and found Entresto was associated with more than a year longer average survival time, and that it was cost-effective compared to enalapril when these medications were used with other standard of care therapies. For every 1,000 patients treated with Entresto vs. enalapril, potentially 59.7 HF hospital admissions could be averted per each year alive in the model.
In addition, Entresto increased life expectancy at an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio consistent with other high-value widely accepted cardiovascular interventions such as implantable cardioverter defibrillators and cholesterol-lowering statins before they became generic.
Heart failure is a debilitating and life-threatening condition, which impacts over 60 million people worldwide. It is the leading cause of hospitalization in people over the age of 65. About half of people with heart failure have HFrEF. Reduced ejection fraction means the heart does not contract with enough force, so less blood is pumped out. Heart failure presents a major and growing health-economic burden that currently costs the world economy $108 billion every year, which accounts for both direct and indirect costs.
Anjali Shukla
Related Content
Novartis receives SMC approval for early breast cancer treatment
Novartis has announced that its treatment for early breast cancer, Kisqali (ribociclib), has received approval …
Novartis candidate for Sjögren’s disease presents positive results
Novartis has reported positive results from two phase 3 clinical trials – NEPTUNUS-1 and NEPTUNUS-2 …
First malaria medicine for infants under 4.5kg receives approval
Coartem (artemether-lumefantrine) Baby, or Riamet, has been approved by Swissmedic as the first malaria medicine …
