The polypill includes three key drugs prescribed to patients who have had a heart attack: aspirin, an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and a statin.
The polypill developed by CNIC and Ferrer, which includes three drugs (aspirin, an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and a statin), is effective in preventing cardiovascular events after a heart attack, reducing 33% mortality from cardiovascular causes.
This is shown by the SECURE study, coordinated by the National Center for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC), which was presented during a Hot Line session at the European Congress of Cardiology (ESC 2022) held in Barcelona. and whose results were published in The New English Journal of Medicine (NEJM).
“SECURE results reveal, for the first time, that the polypill containing aspirin, atorvastatin and ramipril achieves clinically relevant reductions in recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with myocardial infarction” , underlines the principal investigator of the SECURE study, Dr. Dr. Valentín Fuster, director general of CNIC, director of Mount Sinai Heart and medical director of Mount Sinai Hospital.
SECURE included 2,499 patients from 7 European countries (Spain, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, France, Poland and Hungary) who had suffered a myocardial infarction who were randomized to receive either the standard treatment or the polypill.CNIC*.
The average age of the participants was 76 years old and 31% were women. 77.9% suffered from hypertension, 57.4% from diabetes and 51.3% had a history of smoking.
The primary endpoint of the study included major cardiovascular events: cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, stroke, or urgent revascularization. The data from the SECURE study, with an average patient follow-up of three years, are conclusive with regard to this objective.
The study found a 24% decrease in the cumulative risk of these four events in patients who received the polypill compared to those who continued to take the treatment separately on a regular basis.
Of particular relevance are the effects of the polypill on one of the most defining variables, the incidence of cardiovascular death, which decreased by 33% from 71 patients in the usual treatment group to 48 in the polypill group.
Additionally, patients in the polypill group had higher levels of adherence than those in the usual care group, confirming the results of the FOCUS2 study, also funded by the EU.
“Adherence to treatment after acute myocardial infarction is essential for effective secondary prevention. The polypill, because it is a very simple strategy that combines three of the basic treatments in this type of patient, has demonstrated its interest since the increase in compliance means that patients are better treated and, thanks to this, they have less risk of suffering from cardiovascular events”, adds Dr. José María Castellano, scientific director of the HM Hospitales Research Foundation and first author of the publication.
According to Oscar Pérez, Ferrer’s Chief Marketing, Market Access and Business Development Officer, “The 33% reduction in cardiovascular mortality demonstrates the efficacy of treatment with Trinomia3 compared to standard treatment. These results confirm our goal of creating a positive impact on society and represent an important step in our mission to bring significant and differential value to people suffering from serious diseases.”
Dr. Fuster concludes by saying: “The results of the SECURE study suggest that the polypill could be an integral part of strategies for preventing cardiovascular events in patients who have suffered a heart attack. By simplifying treatment and improving adherence, this approach has the potential to reduce the risk of recurrent disease and cardiovascular death globally.”
SECURE was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (trial ID NCT02596126)
Character font. National Cardiovascular Research Center (CNIC)