LCZ696 (Entresto) gets FDA approval for heart failure treatment

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Novartis has announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) tablets, previously known as LCZ696, for the treatment of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction.

The company announced that Entresto will be available on prescription for patients with NYHA class II-IV and has been indicated to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death and heart failure hospitalisation. It is usually administered in conjunction with other heart failure therapies, in place of an ACE inhibitor or other angiotensin receptor blocker.

The FDA’s decision is based on results from the 8,442-patient PARADIGM-HF study which was stopped early when it was shown Entresto significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death versus ACE-inhibitor enalapril. At the end of the study, patients with reduced ejection fraction who were given Entresto were more likely to be alive and less likely to have been hospitalised for heart failure than those given enalapril. Analysis of safety data showed that Entresto had a similar tolerability profile to enalapril.


“The very meaningful survival advantage of Entresto seen in the PARADIGM-HF trial should persuade physicians to consider Entresto for all appropriate patients, in place of traditional ACE inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers,” says Milton Packer, professor and chair for the Department of Clinical Sciences at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Texas, USA. “Entresto is expected to change the management of patients with HFrEF for years to come.”


Entresto is currently undergoing review by Health Authorities around the world, including in Canada, Switzerland and the EU
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