Pharma is focusing on the heart of the problem

A feature analyzing how - and why - cardiology is of renewed interest to pharma.

Over the years, pharma interest in cardiology has waxed and waned as new drug classes have been introduced such as hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (HIF-PHIs), proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors, pyruvate kinase activators and sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (Table 1). Since 2021, several first-in-class drugs have been approved including the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approval of Bristol Myers Squibb's (NYSE: BMY) Camzyos (mavacamten) the first allosteric and reversible inhibitor selective for cardiac myosin to treat symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Novartis’ (NOVN: VX) Leqvio (inclisiran), the first and only siRNA therapy approved to lower low-density lipoprotein C (LDL-C) with twice-yearly dosing.

Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: LXRX) also gained FDA approval for its SGLT1/SGLT2 inhibitor Inpefa (sotaliflozin), a once-daily oral tablet to reduce the risk of cardiovascular death, hospitalization for heart failure, and urgent heart failure visit in adults with heart failure or type 2 diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, and other cardiovascular risk factors. In addition, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: REGN) received the nod from the FDA to expand the use of Evkeeza (evinacumab-dgnb), the first angiopoietin-like 3 (ANGPTL3) inhibitor, in children five years old and above, with familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH).