- Baxdrostat significantly lowers blood pressure
- Addresses unmet clinical need
- 1.3 billion people live with hypertension
AstraZeneca (AZN) was one of the top gainers in the FTSE on Monday (14 July) after the pharmaceutical giant said its experimental drug baxdrostat showed a statistically significant reduction in systolic blood pressure in late-stage trials.
The shares ticked 2% higher to £106.4, taking them into positive territory for the year, although they trail the roughly 9% advance in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index.
The drug works by suppressing the hormone aldosterone, which is responsible for increasing blood pressure and causing risk of heart and kidney diseases.
Baxdrostat was acquired when AstraZeneca purchased CinCor Pharma in 2023 to step-up its roster of heart and kidney disease treatments.
EXCITING RESULTS
Sharon Barr, executive vice president, biopharmaceuticals research and development, said: ‘We are very excited with the BaxHTN Phase III results, which show statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in systolic blood pressure.
‘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,’ added Barr.
There are 1.3 billion people worldwide living with hypertension and roughly half of people with hypertension in the US do not have their blood pressure under control, the company said.
The drug is also being investigated as a standalone therapy for hypertension and as a combination treatment for chronic kidney disease and the prevention of heart failure in high-risk hypertensive patients.
AstraZeneca’s heart, kidney and diabetes medicines are an important part of the company’s portfolio, second in size to the oncology division, and generated $12.5 billion of annual sales in 2024, equivalent to around 23% of total sales.
