A single injection of an experimental drug from Roche and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals yielded lasting improvement in patients with persistent mild to moderate high blood pressure despite taking appropriate medication, according to results from a mid-stage trial.
In 672 patients with refractory hypertension, adding an under-the-skin injection of zilebesiran to existing treatment with one or two standard blood pressure medications reduced systolic blood pressure – the top number - by 4 to 12 mm Hg on average at three months.
Improvements were still evident six months after the injection, said the researchers, who presented the data at the American College of Cardiology scientific meeting in Atlanta.
The new drug works by blocking the liver’s production of the protein angiotensinogen, a key component of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) that regulates blood pressure and fluid balance in the body.
Zilebesiran “may be a very potent new strategy for lowering blood pressure while reducing the need for daily pills," study leader Dr. Akshay Desai of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston said in a statement.