Medical experts are celebrating a groundbreaking medication that could transform treatment for hundreds of millions suffering from drug-resistant hypertension worldwide.
The pharmaceutical baxdrostat has demonstrated efficacy in a major international clinical trial, offering new hope for patients whose blood pressure remains dangerously elevated despite multiple medications.
"I think this could be a game-changer in the way we approach difficult-to-control or hard-to-control blood pressure," said Professor Bryan Williams, chair of medicine at UCL and the study's principal investigator.
The medication addresses a critical healthcare challenge affecting over 650 million people globally who face elevated risks of cardiovascular events, strokes and kidney failure.
The treatment could help hundreds of millions of people globally
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The BaxHTN trial enrolled 796 participants across 214 medical centres internationally, revealing extraordinary outcomes after twelve weeks of treatment.
Approximately 40 per cent of patients receiving either one or two milligrams daily doses achieved normal blood pressure readings, while fewer than 19 per cent taking placebos reached similar targets.
The medication delivered blood pressure reductions of nine to ten millimetres of mercury beyond placebo effects, a decrease substantial enough to significantly lower cardiovascular risks.
Trial results were unveiled at the European Society of Cardiology conference in Madrid and published concurrently in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The breakthrough represents decades of scientific effort to address aldosterone dysregulation, a fundamental cause of treatment-resistant hypertension.
Aldosterone, a hormone controlling salt and water balance in the kidneys, drives blood pressure elevation when overproduced, making conventional treatments ineffective.
"This drug development is really a triumph of scientific discovery," Professor Williams told journalists at the Madrid conference.
Previous attempts to manage aldosterone's effects proved unsuccessful, but baxdrostat selectively blocks the hormone's production, directly tackling this underlying mechanism.
"The results suggest that this drug could help up to half a billion people globally," Williams stated, highlighting the potential impact on worldwide hypertension management.
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The treatment could slash the risk of heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and kidney disease
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"I've never seen blood pressure reductions of this magnitude with a drug," Professor Williams shared, noting that the nearly ten millimetre mercury decrease could substantially reduce heart attacks, strokes, heart failure and kidney disease.
Professor Paul Leeson from Oxford University, not involved in the research, praised the medication as a "valuable additional treatment" for hypertension management.
He highlighted that, unlike existing medications that merely block aldosterone's effects, baxdrostat actually reduces the hormone's levels, potentially minimising adverse effects.
The trial's diverse participant demographics across multiple countries ensure the findings apply broadly to various patient populations experiencing blood pressure difficulties.