Takeda welcomes NICE ruling on heart failure drug

Takeda has highlighted a new ruling by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) which will affect Amias, its candesartan cilexetil-based treatment for chronic heart failure patients.

The healthcare regulator has chosen to recommend angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) licensed for heart failure – a class of drugs which includes Amias – as an alternative first-line therapy in patients who are unable to tolerate an ACE inhibitor.

Among the factors behind this new ruling was data from clinical trials of Takeda's drug, demonstrating its efficacy and safety among heart failure patients when compared to placebo.

It will help to provide a new treatment option for those who are intolerant to ACE inhibitor-based treatments, which can cause coughing among many patients.

Professor John Cleland, professor of cardiology at Hull York Medical School, University of Hull, said: "Candesartan is one of the best studied ARBs and has been shown to improve symptoms, exercise capacity and morbidity."

Last month, Takeda announced it will be applying for US regulatory approval of the anaemia drug Hematide within the next year, with an EU filing to follow after.