AstraZeneca's new blood pressure drug succeeds in pivotal trial

AstraZeneca PLC said its experimental drug baxdrostat succeeded in a late-stage trial for treating patients with hard-to-control high blood pressure, a common condition that has seen little therapeutic innovation in decades.

The Phase III study showed that two doses of the once-daily pill, when added to standard treatments, produced a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in systolic blood pressure compared with a placebo after 12 weeks, the company said.

AstraZeneca also said the drug was generally well tolerated and had a favorable safety profile.

“These findings provide compelling evidence of baxdrostat’s potential to address a critical unmet need by targeting aldosterone dysregulation, bringing a novel mechanism to a field that has seen little innovation in over two decades,” said Sharon Barr, Executive Vice President of BioPharmaceuticals R&D.

Baxdrostat is designed to inhibit aldosterone synthase, an enzyme that produces a hormone linked to elevated blood pressure.

About 1.3 billion people worldwide have hypertension, and in the U.S., roughly half of patients on multiple treatments fail to get their blood pressure under control, according to the company.

AstraZeneca acquired baxdrostat through its purchase of CinCor Pharma Inc. for up to $1.8 billion in 2023.

The deal included a contingent value right that will pay former CinCor shareholders $0.5 billion upon a new drug application submission in the U.S. or Europe.

The company plans to share the data with global regulators and present the full results at a medical conference in August.