Dive Brief:
- Novartis' new heart drug Entresto could help prevent or delay over 28,000 deaths a year in the United States, according to a new study published in JAMA Cardiology.
- Entresto treats a specific type of heart failure which study authors estimate affects around 2.7 million patients in the U.S. Based on label restrictions, the study found as many as 84%, or nearly 2.3 million people, would be candidates for treatment with Entresto.
- A separate pharmacoeconomic analysis, also published in JAMA Cardiology, found use of Entresto to be cost-effective when compared with the ACE inhibitor enalapril, a standard of care treatment.
Dive Insight:
Despite strong data from clinical trials, sales of Entresto have struggled to get off the ground since Novartis launched the drug last year.
But the Paradigm-HF trial is a (data) gift which keeps on giving. The latest analyses published in JAMA give Novartis further evidence to help boost Entresto's profile.
Based on estimates in the study, if Entreso is widely used in all 2.2 million eligible patients, it could prevent or delay 28,484 deaths. Additionally, researchers said delaying treatment with Entresto could have "substantial downsides."
The authors of the study did note that the actual number of patients who are deemed ineligible for treatment could higher than they estimated, which would change their conclusions. They also pointed to the significantly increased costs stemming from the broad adoption of treatment with Entresto.
Novartis own clinical study had found Entresto reduced cardiovascular death or heart-failure hospitalizations by 20%, and lowered all-cause mortality by 16%.
Another study published in JAMA considered the potential impact of Entresto treatment over a 30-year time horizon versus standard of care. Those researchers found Entresto to be more cost-effective when the downstream consequences of insufficiently managed heart failure were taken into account.
Novartis has already widely expanded the clinical trial program for Entresto to generate further supporting data. The Swiss company hopes the drug can help boost revenue as other drugs face generic competition.