Novartis: Rasilez lowers blood pressure more effectively than diuretic

Novartis has announced the publication of new clinical data showing that Rasilez (aliskiren) lowers blood pressure more effectively than the administration of a diuretic in obese patients.

The results were presented at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology and showed the compound is effective as a therapy for difficult-to-treat patients with obesity, diabetes and heart failure.

Results from the Aloft study revealed the compound reduced the market of heart failure severity when used in conjunction with optimal therapy in chronic heart failure patients with diabetes.

Novartis said these findings were important, as 70 per cent of patients experiencing high blood pressure are obese or overweight or obese, while 23 million people across the world suffer from chronic heart failure.

The company said it was assessing the potential of Rasilez to protect the heart and kidney independently of its ability to reduce blood pressure in the Aspire Higher clinical trials

Trevor Mundel, head of global development functions at Novartis Pharma, said: “We are pleased to report that studies from the Aspire higher programme, including data from Aloft and Avoid, have already paved the way for an enhanced European Union (EU) label for Rasilez.”

Last month, Novartis announced that Rasilez has received EU approval as a treatment for high blood pressure following 44 clinical trials of more than 7,800 patients.