A high blood pressure medication which was trialled in a study led by The University of Western Australia has been approved for use in the United States.
The US Food and Drug Administration approved TRYVIO, a drug to treat high blood pressure in patients who have shown resistance to other medications.
Professor Markus Schlaich, Dobney Chair in Clinical Research at UWA’s Medical School, led the study of aprocitentan (sold under the name TRYVIO) and the results were published in the Lancet.
“An estimated 1.3 billion people have hypertension, of which approximately 10 per cent have resistant hypertension,” Professor Schlaich said.
“The failure to control blood pressure with drugs that were currently available suggested that the relevant pathophysiological pathways were not being targeted.”
The study involved patients who still had high blood pressure despite having taken a minimum of three drugs at their optimal dose and sometimes up to four, five, or even six medications.
The drug trialled targeted the endothelin receptors, which when activated can constrict the smooth muscles of the blood vessels, raising blood pressure, or relax the smooth muscles of the blood vessels, lowering blood pressure.
“In conjunction with other medications we found the drug which targeted the endothelin pathway lowered blood pressure in patients who had resistant hypertension,” Professor Schlaich said.
“Aprocitentan lowered systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and this was sustained over a period of 48 weeks supporting long-term tolerability and efficiency.
“The lower blood pressure reduced the risk of fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and heart attacks.
“This is an important milestone in our fight against high blood pressure and will facilitate improved blood pressure control for many. We hope it will be approved and available in Australia by next year.”
Pharmaceutical company Idorsia plans to make TRYVIO available in the US in the second half of 2024 to adults with resistant hypertension to be taken in combination with other antihypertensive drugs.
