A large-scale clinical trial comparing the ARB valsartan (Diovan drug) with the same ARB plus HCTZ revealed unexpected findings and raised new questions. The ARB/HCTZ combination lowered BP successfully but significantly increased the inflammatory marker hsCRP Professor Paul Ridker, MD, MPH, study author of the Val-MARC trial (POzlsartan: Managing BP Aggressively and Evaluating deductions in [...]

Aliskiren (Rasilez, Novartis), a direct renin inhibitor and the first in a new class of antihypertensive drugs to be introduced in a decade, has been submitted for approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In clinical trials presented at the American Society of Hypertension’s Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2006), aliskiren provided uninterrupted [...]

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SYMPOSIUM Long-term efficacy data for glatiramer acetate (Copaxone, Teva Pharmaceuticals), which is indicated for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), constituted a centerpiece among two days of presentations at the Fifth Teva and Sanofi-Aventis International Symposium on MS. Several hundred interested professionals attended the meeting, which took place from May 12-14, in Tenerife, Spain.