Entresto bests enalapril in heart failure study

Novartis (NOVN: VX) has released new data on its already marketed Entresto (sacubitril and valsartan), which so far has failed to reach sales expectations, that will give it a positive edge in the treatment of heart failure patients, pushing the firm’s shares up 0.76% to 89.76 Swiss francs in early trading.

The Swiss pharma giant today announced results of the landmark PIONEER-HF trial showing that in-hospital initiation of Entresto tablets provided superior benefit compared to enalapril - a heart failure medication commonly used in patients with HFrEF who had been stabilized following admission for an acute decompensation heart failure (ADHF) event. Results were presented as a late-breaker at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2018 and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients on Entresto in PIONEER-HF had a 29% greater reduction in time-averaged N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) at weeks 4 and 8 (the primary endpoint) compared to enalapril patients (95% CI: 0.63, 0.81; P<0.0001). Significant reductions in NT-proBNP were observed in Entresto patients as early as 1 week after treatment initiation. NT-proBNP is an established biomarker used to assess the severity and determine the prognosis of heart failure. Notably, the superior NT-proBNP reduction with Entresto was consistent across diverse HFrEF patient populations stabilized following admission for ADHF, including those newly diagnosed with HFrEF, those not receiving an ACEi/ARB treatment and African Americans.