FDA Approves New Combination Hypertension Pill

The FDA approves VALTURNA ... this will be the newest in the increasingly long string of combination anti-hypertensive pills. Combination pills have become all the rage in recent years. The ease of taking two medications or more (Exforge HCT has three components) in a single pill improves potency as well as compliance.

Valturna, is the latest offering from Novartis. It is a combination of their blockbuster angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), Diovan (valsartan) and the newer but significantly less successful direct renin inhibitor, Tekturna (aliskiren).

This will be the first combination pill with both components acting on the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone axis. Maximizing the RAS blockade has long been a strategic goal in the field of hypertension and nephrology. Unfortunately, the once promising combination of an ARB with an ACE inhibitor has yielded conflicting and largely disappointing results. Nevertheless, there is some decent data with adding on aliskiren particular in regards to proteinuria. The combo pill, Valturna may be of use in the CKD world in patients with at least modest proteinuria. But overall, Valturna will likely be a niche player in the hypertension universe.

How long do you think it will take to see Valturna HCT?