New Novartis drug may upend heart failure treatment

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New Novartis drug may upend heart failure treatment

By Ben Hirschler BARCELONA (Reuters) - A new medicine from Novartis could replace drugs that have been central to treating heart failure for a quarter of century, after proving remarkably effective in reducing deaths in a keenly awaited study. “Given the survival advantage of LCZ696 over currently available drugs, once this drug becomes available, it would be difficult to understand why physicians would continue to use traditional (drugs) ... for the treatment of heart failure," said Milton Packer of the University of Texas. There has been little progress for more than a decade in treating chronic heart failure, in which the heart fails to pump enough blood around the body, so there is excitement about the new medicine among both doctors and investors. ESC officials flagged the PARADIGM-HF trial as a highlight of the five-day event in Barcelona and Piotr Ponikowski of the Medical University of Wroclaw, who was not involved in the trial, urged a fast-track review of treatment guidelines given the "striking" finding.

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