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AstraZeneca’s potential new blood pressure medicine has succeeded in a late-stage clinical trial, paving the way for approval of the drug it hopes could generate annual sales of up to $5bn.
The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said baxdrostat met its goals in the trial of patients with resistant hypertension, showing a “highly clinically meaningful” reduction in blood pressure over 24 hours, when compared with patients taking a placebo. The drug delivered substantial improvements in the critical hours of the morning when patients are at highest risk of stroke or heart attack.
Baxdrostat is one of the key drugs AstraZeneca is betting will help it meet its target of $80bn revenue by 2030, up from $54bn last year.
Chief executive Pascal Soriot has said crucial trial results this year will give investors a “good sense” of whether the company is on track for the 2030 goal. Astra had 12 positive late-stage trial results in the first half.
The FTSE 100 company acquired baxdrostat in its $1.8bn takeover of US biotech CinCor in 2023.
The result for 24-hour hypertension follows another positive trial result reported in late August. The medicine works by inhibiting the production of aldosterone, an important hormone that raises blood pressure by promoting water and salt retention, and increases the risk of heart and kidney problems.
Sharon Barr, AstraZeneca’s executive vice-president in biopharmaceuticals research and development, on Tuesday said the drugmaker was advancing its filings with regulators and “rapidly progressing” its other clinical trial programmes, including in chronic kidney disease and prevention of heart failure.
“Too many patients today have hypertension that remains hard to control throughout the day and night, making them especially vulnerable to cardiac events,” she said.
About 1.4bn people have hypertension, with about half of those in the US unable to control the problem despite taking multiple treatments, such as the generic statins.
Dr Bryan Williams, chair of medicine at University College London and the primary investigator on the trial, said the results were “groundbreaking”. “We have the potential to change our treatment approach for the many patients whose hypertension remains uncontrolled despite current therapies,” he said.
The full trial data will be presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in November.
Shares in AstraZeneca, which have gained almost 20 per cent this year, closed up 0.8 per cent in London, valuing the company at about £197bn.
