FDA Approves New Drug to Treat Chronic Angina
Posted on: Saturday, 28 January 2006, 18:00 CST
FDA approves new drug to treat chronic angina
WASHINGTON Chronic angina sufferers gained another drug Friday to relieve the crippling pain that can strike when the heart fails to receive enough oxygen.
The Food and Drug Administration approved ranolazine for use in angina patients, agency spokeswoman Laura Alvey said. The drug is for use by patients already taking calcium channel blockers, beta blockers or nitroglycerin, according to CV Therapeutics Inc. The Palo Alto, Calif., company hopes to begin marketing the drug as Ranexa in March.
About 6.5 million Americans have angina. Ranexa works by allowing the heart to pump more efficiently without the need for more oxygen, the company said.
The drugs currently used to treat angina either increase the supply of blood, which carries oxygen, or reduce the hearts demand for oxygen. Ranexa acts by allowing the heart muscle, once contracted, to relax, said Dr. Louis Lange, the chairman and chief executive officer of CV Therapeutics. That in turn normalizes the flow of blood that had been restricted by the contracted heart, relieving the pain that accompanies it.
, Lange added.
The drug will be available as an extended-release tablet.
The European Medicines Agency in October demanded further trials of Ranexa before it would consider approving the drug.
On the interNet:
Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov
CV Therapeutics Inc.: http://www.cvt.com/
Source: Advocate; Baton Rouge, La.
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