Omecamtiv mecarbil should target patient subgroups to penetrate crowded HF market, says analyst

Omecamtiv mecarbil (OM), Cytokinetics’ promising new drug in the chronic heart failure treatment space, will struggle to penetrate the crowded market despite positive results from a recent Phase II study exploring OM’s efficacy in reduced ejection fraction (HF-REF), according to a new analysis.

According to research and consulting firm GlobalData’s most recent heart failure report, the treatment market will be invigorated by a number of exciting new therapies to reach $11.8 billion by 2025. In this way, although OM has a positive efficacy profile, is well tolerated, and boasts a novel mechanism of action through specifically activating cardiac myosin, Cytokinetics and its collaborating partner Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) will need to carefully consider which patients to target, and where OM will fit in the HF-REF treatment algorithm.

Elizabeth Hamson, GlobalData’s analyst covering cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, explains: “A key consideration for the companies to address is whether patients will want to add another drug to their already complicated treatment regimens, particularly as OM is taken twice daily. A large proportion of heart failure patients suffer from one or more co-morbidities, for which they take additional medications, so physicians may be reluctant to prescribe them more.”