Doctors may soon have a powerful new tool in the fight against high blood pressure, following a major international trial of an experimental drug developed by AstraZeneca.
The once-daily pill, called Baxdrostat, significantly lowered blood pressure in patients whose condition had proved resistant to existing medicines. Researchers reported that, after just 12 weeks, patients on the drug saw their blood pressure drop by around 9 to 10 mmHg — a reduction large enough to cut the risk of heart disease, stroke and kidney damage.
Crucially, about 40% of patients taking baxdrostat achieved healthy blood pressure levels, compared with fewer than 20% in the placebo group.
Professor Bryan Williams of University College London, who led the global BaxHTN trial involving nearly 800 patients across 214 clinics, described the results as “spectacular”. He said the findings suggest the drug could help up to 10 million people in the UK and half a billion worldwide.
Baxdrostat works by blocking an enzyme that produces aldosterone, a hormone that regulates blood pressure and salt balance. Although aldosterone was discovered at UCL in 1952, its key role in hard-to-control hypertension has only become clear in the last decade.
High blood pressure affects around 14 million people in the UK, often without symptoms, and is the leading preventable cause of premature death worldwide. Left untreated, it can trigger heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and has been increasingly linked to dementia.
Prof Williams said: “For years, the assumption was that we had enough drugs for high blood pressure. But the reality is existing medicines don’t achieve the control rates we want. It is exciting to finally see new treatments coming through, because they’re sorely needed.”
If approved by regulators, Baxdrostat would be one of the first new treatments for hypertension in decades — a development experts say could transform care for millions.
