Bayer launches novel drug in India to treat worsening heart failure

Just about a year after the US and European Union approved novel drug Vericiguat to treat worsening heart failure, Bayer has launched the medicine in India under the brand name Verquvo .

While heart failure is mostly confused with heart attack, it is a debilitating condition caused by damage to the heart over years and despite receiving treatment or standard care therapy the damage can worsen to the point where urgent treatment is intravenous.

This is what is known as a worsening heart failure event. From here, many patients of the condition enter a downward spiral of further events, representing one of the biggest challenges remaining in the management of chronic heart failure.

There are an estimated 8-10 million patients of the condition in India and estimates suggest that one out of two patients go back to the hospital within 30 days of previous hospitalisation.

The mortality due to the condition is also very high and 1 in 3 patients die within one year of symptoms appearing while 60 percent patients die within 5 years.

The in-hospital heart failure mortality rate in India is also high with registry data suggesting it ranges between 10–30.8 percent compared with 4–7 percent in the Western countries.

“The innovative drug helps patients in three ways, by reducing hospitalisation, mortality benefit and improving quality of life,” said Manoj Saxena, managing director, Bayer Zydus and South Asia Head for Pharma.

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When heart fails to pump properly, it results in symptoms such as breathlessness, swelling in different body parts and congestion in the chest, among others.

“Patients diagnosed with heart failure are typically on other drugs but they still need hospitalisation and may even die,” said Dr Ashish Gawde, medical director, Bayer Pharma India.

The new drug, he said, works on a novel pathway. “The drug works by relaxing the heart and vessels and aids in cardiac remodelling thereby improving the heart health,” he said.

Cardiovascular diseases are a group of disorders of the heart and blood vessels which include coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral arterial disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism.

As per estimates, 50 percent of all heart attacks in Indian men occur under the age of 50, while 25 percent of all heart attacks in Indian men occur under 40 years of age. More worryingly, the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases is high even among people who are slightly older than 45 years, unlike West where these disease typically start after 60 years.