AIIRA/CCB drug combination provides superior safety and efficacy compared to other fixed-dose combinations

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that a hypertension drug that requires less-frequent dosing than Novartis's Diovan/Tareg (valsartan) would earn 30 percent patient share according to surveyed U.S. cardiologists.

Similarly, in Europe, such an agent would earn comparable patient share of 25 percent according to surveyed European cardiologists. These patient shares are significantly higher than Diovan/Tareg's current patient share (6.1%) and are higher than the patient share achieved by any current hypertension drug.

"In the crowded hypertension market, 25 to 30 percent patient shares are unlikely reached without any evidence of long-term clinical benefit. However, the magnitude of these estimates indicate cardiologists' concern about patient compliance to therapy and their desire for a novel drug that requires less-frequent dosing than Diovan/Tareg, as long as this agent has similar cardioprotective effects as Diovan/Tareg," stated Decision Resources Therapeutic Area Director Nikhil Mehta, M.Eng.

The new report entitled Hypertension: Among Fixed-Dose Combination Agents, AIIRA/CCBs Stand Out for Their Superior Efficacy and Safety also finds that the fixed-dose combination telmisartan/amlodipine will earn Decision Resources' proprietary clinical gold standard status for hypertension in 2013 and through 2018 following its approval for the disease. Telmisartan/ amlodipine has competitive advantages over other emerging therapies because it combines an effective angiotensin II receptor antagonist (AIIRA) -- telmisartan -- with a calcium-channel blocker (CCB) -- amlodipine. Combination of an AIIRA and a CCB provides superior efficacy and safety compared with other fixed-dose combinations.

"We expect telmisartan/amlodipine to remain the clinical gold standard through 2018 because there are no other emerging agents expected to launch during this time that will have a clinical profile superior to this AIIRA/CCB combination," added Mr. Mehta.