Gilead Sciences calls phase 3 trial of drug successful

FOSTER CITY, Calif. Drug maker Gilead Sciences said Thursday that an investigational drug for treating resistant hypertension significantly lowered blood pressure.

The company said that DAR-311, a phase 3 trial of the drug darusentan, found that the study met its primary endpoints.

Gilead will conduct a second study, DAR-312, in which about 90% of patients are already enrolled.

“Failure to control blood pressure elevates the risk of a number of life-threatening cardiovascular conditions such as stroke, heart attack and heart failure, suggesting an unmet need for novel antihypertensive drugs with unique mechanisms of action that can be added to existing treatment regimens in patients with resistant hypertension,” Gilead EVP research and development and chief science officer Norbert Bischofberger said. “In this study, more than half of the patients treated with darusentan achieved goal blood pressure, as compared to approximately one quarter of patients receiving placebo.”