A new treatment has been shown to significantly lower blood pressure in people whose levels stay dangerously high, despite taking several existing medicines, according to the results of a Phase III clinical trial led by a UCL Professor.
Globally around 1.3 billion people have high blood pressure (hypertension), and in around half of cases the condition is uncontrolled or treatment resistant. These individuals face a much greater risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease, and early death. In the UK the number of people with hypertension is around 14 million.
The international BaxHTN trial, led by Professor Bryan Williams (UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science) and sponsored by AstraZeneca, assessed the new drug baxdrostat - which is taken as a tablet - with participation from nearly 800 patients across 214 clinics worldwide. The study was supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at UCLH.
Results are being presented today (Saturday 30th August) at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2025 in Madrid and are being simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The trial results showed that, after 12 weeks, patients taking baxdrostat (1 mg or 2 mg once daily in pill form) saw their blood pressure fall by around 9-10 mmHg more than placebo - a reduction large enough to cut cardiovascular risk. About 4 in 10 patients reached healthy blood pressure levels, compared with fewer than 2 in 10 on placebo.
Principal Investigator, Professor Williams, who is presenting the results at ESC, said: "Achieving a nearly 10 mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure with baxdrostat in the BaxHTN Phase III trial is exciting, as this level of reduction is linked to substantially lower risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease."
