GSK co-sponsor worldwide trial into cardiovascular disease

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to co-sponsor of one of the world's largest ever drug trials into cardiovascular (CV) disease, the leading cause of death in the developed world.

Comprising over 29,000 patients across 700 locations worldwide, The Ontarget Trial Programme will look at whether Pritor (telmisartan) is able to protect people at high risk from suffering CV problems such as strokes, heart attacks and heart failure. Pritor was chosen because of its excellent tolerability, potency and reliable 24-hour duration of action.

Interest in the trial programme has been considerable, reflected by the speed with which patients have been recruited to it. Recruitment for the trial was completed in May this year - seven months earlier that scheduled.

Commenting on the study, Professor Peter Sleight, European Co-ordinator for the trial and Professor Emeritus of Cardiovascular Medicine in the University of Oxford at the John Radcliffe Hospital, UK said: 'The exceptionally rapid recruitment for this trial is a clear indicator of the widespread academic and clinical interest in the potential of telmisartan in cardiovascular protection, and the comparisons with ramipril alone, or the combination of ramipril and telmisartan. The Ontarget trial will increase our understanding of how to lower cardiovascular risk, and as such, this trial represents a major milestone in the study of cardiovascular protection.'

Lawson Macartney, vp, global therapy area strategy for cardiovascular, metabolic and urology at GSK said: 'Despite effective therapies to manage individual risk factors in cardiovascular disease, this remains the leading cause of death in the developed world. The Ontarget trial programme will be one of the most comprehensive programmes of clinical research into protection against cardiovascular disease to date. The knowledge gained from this research has the potential to revolutionise cardiovascular care for the many millions worldwide at risk of these increasingly prevalent diseases and GSK is delighted to be a co-sponsor of this landmark clinical study.'

Angiotensin II receptor blockers

Pritor is in a class of medicines known as angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) that are routinely used in lowering high blood pressure (hypertension). It is as effective in reducing blood pressure (BP) as other classes of antihypertensive medicine (e.g. ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers) without causing the side effects associated with these other classes of drug. Pritor is effective during the critical 18-24 hour post-dose period, during which time patients are most at risk from a cardiovascular event such as myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death and stroke.