By Bill Berkrot ORLANDO (Reuters) – An experimental heart failure drug being developed by Cytokinetics Inc and Amgen Inc demonstrated several beneficial cardiac function effects in a midstage clinical trial, according to data presented on Sunday. The trial of 448 patients with chronic heart failure already receiving optimal care tested a twice-a-day oral version of the drug, omecamtiv mecarbil, against a placebo over 20 weeks. After two weeks of treatment, a group of patients had the drug dose doubled to 50 milligrams from 25 mg. Statistically significant improvements were seen in those patients compared to those taking a placebo, including increased volume and percentage of blood pumped with each heartbeat, a reduction in heart rate and a decrease in the size of the heart, known as remodeling.
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Cytokinetics, Amgen drug shows promise in heart failure study
