Vericiguat is a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator that might be useful in the treatment of patients with worsening heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). To determine the optimal dose and tolerability of this drug, the SOCRATES-REDUCED investigators performed a phase II study in 351 patients with HFrEF. Patients were randomly allocated to receive 1.25 mg, 2.5 mg, 5.0 mg, or 10.0 mg of vericiguat or placebo for 12 weeks, and the change in the level of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) from baseline to follow-up was recorded. No significant difference was found between the pooled vericiguat group and placebo; however, the drug was well tolerated, and exploratory analyses suggested a dose–response relationship between vericiguat and reduction in NT-proBNP level. The investigators believe that “further clinical trials of vericiguat based on the dose–response relationship in this study are needed to determine the potential role of this drug for patients with worsening chronic heart failure”.
References
Gheorghiade, M. et al. Effect of vericiguat, a soluble guanylate cyclase stimulator, on natriuretic peptide levels in patients with worsening chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction: the SOCRATES-REDUCED randomized trial. JAMA 10.1001/jama.2015.15734
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Lim, G. Soluble guanylate cyclase stimulation in HFrEF. Nat Rev Cardiol 13, 2 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2015.181
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2015.181