Mylan, Forest get FDA approval of Bystolic for hypertension

WASHINGTON The Food and Drug Administration has approved Mylan and Forest Labs’ new drug, nebivolol, for the treatment of high blood pressure. Forest will market the drug under the prescription name Bystolic.

Nearly 1-in-3 adults in the United States has high blood pressure, also called hypertension, which can increase the risks for stroke, heart failure, heart attack and kidney failure. “High blood pressure is often called the ‘silent killer’ because it usually has no symptoms until it causes damage to the body,” said Douglas Throckmorton, the FDA’s deputy director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Bystolic offers a new treatment option for people who need to control their high blood pressure.”

More than 2,000 people received Bystolic during clinical trials. The drug’s efficacy was similar to that of other approved beta blockers, the FDA said. The most common reported side effects were headache, fatigue, dizziness and diarrhea.

On Dec. 2 of this year, Forest and Mylan had said that final approval was contingent upon resolution of manufacturing deficiencies at a plant in Belgium.