Overview
- AstraZeneca’s Baxfendy, which won U.S. approval Monday, can be prescribed with other blood‑pressure drugs for patients whose readings stay high despite treatment.
- In a late‑stage study, 2 mg lowered systolic pressure by 9.8 mmHg at 12 weeks after placebo adjustment, and 1 mg lowered it by 8.7 mmHg.
- The medicine blocks aldosterone, a hormone that raises blood pressure by driving salt and water retention, so it can complement diuretics and ACE inhibitors.
- The approval puts AstraZeneca ahead of Mineralys Therapeutics, whose rival aldosterone inhibitor lorundrostat is under FDA review with a decision expected in December.
- AstraZeneca projects more than $5 billion in peak annual sales as hypertension affects about 1.4 billion people worldwide and roughly 120 million U.S. adults.