Wales found that a new pill combining low doses of three different anti-hypertensive medications surpassed a current high-quality standard care treatment plan using one anti-hypertensive drug.
The new triple combination medication for treating hypertension is called GMRx2.
Researchers estimate that about 1.28 billion adults trusted sources around the world have hypertension, also known as high blood pressure.
There are a variety of medications available to treat high blood pressure. It is not uncommon for a person to have to take multiple different medications for blood pressure on a daily basis.
Having multiple medications to take each day can increase a person’s “medication burden” or “pill burden(Trusted Source).” Past studies show that a person’s total medication burden may be associated with non-adherence to prescribed drugs.
A new study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) (trusted source) has found a new pill that combines low doses of three different anti-hypertensive medications surpassed a current high-quality standard care treatment plan starting with only one anti-hypertensive drug.
Combination pill vs. standard treatment for hypertension
This study was part of the Phase 3 clinical trial of the new triple combination hypertension medication called GMRx2, manufactured by George Medicines.
For this study, researchers recruited about 300 Black African study participants with uncontrolled hypertension living in Nigeria.
Half of the participants received the GMRx2, a once-daily pill combining low doses of three anti-hypertensive medications: telmisartan, amlodipine, and indapamide.
It is a single pill combination of three medicines, each at low doses; with multiple mechanisms, it increases efficacy, and with low doses, it minimizes side effects. Anthony Rodgers, PhD, professorial fellow at the The George Institute for Global Health at the University of New South Wales in Australia and corresponding.
The other half of the study participant pool received the current high blood pressure standard care treatment plan recommended by the Nigerian Ministry of Health, which starts with one medication and is followed by second and third drugs added as needed.
This new paradigm is based on the evidence that at low doses, most benefits are maintained and most adverse effects avoided, Rodgers explained. “It is important to test any new paradigm against well-implemented current practices.
Drop in systolic blood pressure after 6 months
After six months of treatment, Rodgers and his team found that study participants taking the GMRx2 combination pill had a 31 mmHg lower home systolic blood pressure, compared to a 26 mmHg lower in the group following standard care protocols.
Previous research correlates a 5 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure to a reduced risk for major cardiovascular events by about 10%.
Finding large and sustained blood pressure reductions is important—each mmHg of raised blood pressure raises your chance of a cardiovascular event (heart attack or stroke) by about 2%.
AMANI Nesta