Cardiovascular

With Nubeqa establishing itself as a strong option for prostate cancer, Bayer is shifting its short-term focus from oncology onto cardiovascular and plotting a late-stage plan for asundexian, its follow-up to Xarelto.

AstraZeneca's SGLT2 inhibitor Farxiga could soon get approval as an option for all heart failure patients following the success of the large Phase III DELIVER trial in people with preserved ejection fraction.

Bristol already is training cardiologists at major treatment centers in how to treat obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with Camzyos (mavacamten) based on the REMS in the US label. 

First-quarter sales jumped by 56% to $11.39bn at AstraZeneca and while its COVID-19 products brought in $1.6bn, it was the performance of the diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease drug Farxiga that impressed most.

The newly launched biotech has a novel platform for discovering protective tissue factors and turning them into therapies,with heart failure prevention its first target.

Novartis’s multiple sclerosis treatment Kesimpta has shot out of the gates and bidding fair to contribute generously to the firm’s coffers, while new cholesterol drug Leqvio struggles, Q1 results show.

On the way to seeking approval for istaroxime in acute heart failure, Windtree became convinced that early cardiogenic shock could be a good get-to-market strategy for its blood pressure-improving drug.

Carinne Brouillon, head of the German major’s human pharma business unit, tells Scrip that Jardiance’s leadership in interconnected cardio-metabolic-renal diseases has been demonstrated and the product is set to keep rising as new indications come onboard.

The US pharma giant is planning ahead for Keytruda’s swansong, and hopes that wave of new cardiovascular drugs can help maintain its growth into the next decade.

AstraZeneca and Ionis believe they have a potential best-in-class PCSK9 inhibitor, but the product will have to impress in forthcoming pivotal trials to catch up with Novartis’s Leqvio.

The biotech’s cardiology asset has failed an advanced study focused on exercise capacity in heart failure, having underwhelmed observers with past data, but hope remains that the LVEF subset could be a saving grace.

Long-term results from the EXPLORER-HCM extension study are consistent with the pivotal trial in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, while data from VALOR may support a supplemental filing.