New drug could help millions of people with high blood pressure

A new injection, given twice a year, could revolutionize blood pressure treatment and prevent major cardiovascular events.

A new study published in JAMA reveals that a simple injection every six months could significantly lower blood pressure in people who have difficulty controlling the disease.

The international study, called KARDIA-2, recruited 663 participants whose high blood pressure was not adequately managed with standard treatments. In the trial, patients received an injection of a new drug called zilebesiran in addition to their standard medications.

Patients who received silvesiran showed a greater reduction in blood pressure compared to those who continued with standard treatment alone.

This breakthrough could change the lives of millions of people with high blood pressure, a condition that affects around one in three adults in the UK. Untreated high blood pressure can dramatically increase the risk of serious health problems such as heart attack, stroke and even death.

Results from a clinical study by British researchers show that an injection given to people with high blood pressure every six months can lead to a significant and long-lasting decrease in their blood pressure.

Expert insights on the clinical trial

Dr. Manish Saxena, a high blood pressure specialist, was the lead investigator on the study and senior author of the new paper.

He said of the results: "Hypertension is a global health problem because blood pressure control rates are still poor and it is a leading cause of heart attack and stroke. This study shows the efficacy and safety of silvesiran, when added to commonly used first-line antihypertensive drugs. The novelty of this treatment is its long duration; giving just one injection every six months could help millions of patients manage their disease better."

How does silvestrin work?

Silvasiren is an experimental drug that uses RNAi (RNA interference) technology. It blocks the production of a specific protein in the liver (angiotensin), helping to relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure. The injection is given under the skin.

The next step for silvesiran will include another Phase 2 study, KARDIA-3, to see if this therapy has potential for use in treating people with high blood pressure and existing cardiovascular disease, or in people at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

Later this year, the sponsor plans to recruit patients for a large global outcomes study to understand its impact on reducing cardiovascular events, stroke, and cardiovascular-related death.

for the scientific articlehttps://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2834632

More on the subject on the science website

• There are solutions for the rare disease - pulmonary hypertension
• A well-known antihypertensive drug was found to be effective in preventing epilepsy following a head injury
• Wolf Prize for Medicine to the researcher who discovered a target in the body for a drug against diabetes and obesity