Novartis: Studies show blood pressure drug Diovan lowers C-reactive protein, an important inflammation marker

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, May 19 - Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp. said Friday that its blood pressure drug Diovan lowered the level of the inflammatory marker high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), independently of its established efficacy in lowering blood pressure, according to findings from a large clinical trial.

The findings were presented at the American Society of Hypertension, Inc. annual scientific meeting and exposition and published online in Hypertension on Friday, according to a company news release.

The study also showed that Diovan and Diovan HCT helped a significant number of hard-to-treat patients with a severe form of high blood pressure called "stage 2."

"Increased hsCRP levels are commonly found in those patients at increased risk for cardiovascular events," said Paul Ridker, Eugene Braunwald professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School and lead investigator of the trial, in a news release.

"Until now, statins were among only a few medicines known to lower hsCRP. This study showed that treating high blood pressure with valsartan can also reduce levels of this important inflammatory marker," Ridker added.

The new findings are from a large, randomized clinical trial called Val-MARC in 1,668 high blood pressure patients. Val-MARC is the largest study to investigate whether blood pressure medications, specifically Diovan or Diovan HCT, can lower hsCRP in addition to effectively treating stage 2 hypertension, officials said.

Val-MARC was conducted in 384 primary care clinics across the United States in a diverse range of hard-to-treat high blood pressure patients, including African Americans, Hispanics, those with diabetes and the elderly, officials said.

In Val-MARC, the reduction observed with Diovan on hsCRP levels was preserved in all subgroups in the trial, including those patients who were taking statins. There was no consistent effect observed with Diovan HCT on levels of hsCRP.

Val-MARC also demonstrated that Diovan HCT, including two new higher strengths recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration, produced double-digit blood pressure reductions up to 27 mmHg in systolic and 14 mmHg in diastolic blood pressure, officials said.

The company said it already has completed Diovan trials in high blood pressure patients at high risk for cardiovascular events, in post-heart attack patients and in heart failure patients.

Located in East Hanover, N.J., Novartis Pharmaceuticals is an affiliate of Novartis AG.

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