Merck KGaA’s ConcorCOR ‘cuts sudden death risk in heart failure patients’

Merck KGaA has claimed that ConcorCOR (bisoprolol, its beta-1 receptor selective beta-blocker, can reduce the risk of sudden death in chronic heart failure patients by almost half compared to angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

The German pharmaceutical manufacturer says that the results of a new clinical trial comparing the types of drugs provides a “further challenge” to guidelines stating that chronic heart failure should be treated first with an ACE inhibitor followed by a beta-blocker.

Merck KGaA’s claims are supported by positive clinical study comparing ConcorCOR with enalapril, an ACE inhibitor. During the first six months of treatment, of the 23 ConcorCOR patients who died, eight expired suddenly, compared to 16 out of 32 in the enalapril group.

After a year, 16 out of the 42 deaths in the ConcorCOR group were sudden, in comparison with 29 out of 60 patients in the ACE inhibitor group. Overall, this represents a 46 reduction in the risk of sudden death in ConcorCOR patients.

However, trial patients using Merck KGaA’s beta-blocker were more likely to be admitted to hospital early for chronic heart failure, although not by a statistically significant amount.

Professor Ronnie Willenheimer, the study’s lead investigator, remarked: “This may well be a reasonable price to pay for the dramatic reduction seen in early sudden deaths in patients initially treated with ConcorCOR.”

Merck KGaA’s last quarterly results showed that ConcorCOR sales decreased by 3.1 per cent, which the company attributed to “exceptionally strong” sales during the second quarter of 2005.

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