Injection could replace drugs for high BP – British trial

A breakthrough may be on the horizon for millions of people suffering from high blood pressure, the leading cause of heart attacks and strokes, in the form of a six-monthly injection instead of daily medication for the condition. Known as zilebesiran, the jab targets a key hormone produced by the liver, reports The Independent.

The injection, produced by US-based Alnylan Pharmaceuticals, has recently undergone trials in Britain, during which experts at Queen Mary University of London recruited 107 patients with hypertension, of whom 80 were given a shot of zilebesiran under their skin and 32 received a placebo with no active ingredients. Five of the 32 patients who were on the placebo were later given zilebesiran.

Initial analysis showed that volunteers on zilebesiran experienced a significant drop in systolic blood pressure that lasted up to six months. Systolic blood pressure was lowered by more than 10 mmHg on at least a 200-mg dose and by 20 mmHg at the highest of 800 mg. The drop can take a patient’s high blood pressure into a safer range.

Despite high blood pressure being difficult to treat due to its fluctuations across a day, zilebesiran resulted in a consistent drop over 24 hours. The medication prevents the production of angiotensin, a hormone that narrows blood vessels and causes blood pressure to rise, said the researchers in their article, which was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine.

‘Overall, these preliminary data… support the potential for further study of quarterly or twice-yearly administration of zilebesiran as a treatment for patients with hypertension.’ Professor David Webb, who led the trial in Edinburgh, added: ‘This is a potentially major development in hypertension. There has not been a new class of drug licensed for the treatment of high blood pressure in 17 years. This novel approach leads to a substantial reduction in blood pressure, both by day and night, that lasts for around six months after a single injection.’