Abbott and Orion Pharma heart drug produces short term benefits

Abbot and Orion’s heart failure drug levosimendan has been found to lower mortality in the short term, but not cause “statistically significant reductions” in death.

The study found that heart failure patients who were given the drug shortly after entering accident & emergency needed less treatment than those given conventional intravenous drugs.

Whilst 26 per cent of patients under usual treatments still required treatment after four days after the event, only 15 per cent who received levosimendan required additional treatment. In addition, chances of getting better grew by 33 per cent.

However, the drug failed to reduce long term mortality, with those taking the drug after six months seeing no benefit at all. Deaths and complications were reported to have increased, but researchers said it was likely a chance occurrence.

Dr Timothy Gardener from the center for heart and vascular health at Christiana Care Health Services, told Associated Press: “There were some worrisome trends”.

However, the treatment was found to have helped especially sick patients more than other drugs. The drug was given to 300 patients in accident and emergency centres in the US, Australia and Israel.

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