AstraZeneca shared positive high-level results from a phase 3 trial in which its oral hypertension drug, baxdrostat, demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction of systolic blood pressure compared with placebo.
In the BaxHTN multicenter, randomized, double-blinded trial, baxdrostat was tested at two doses (2 mg and 1 mg) against placebo at 12 weeks in patients with uncontrolled hypertension being treated with two different antihypertensive medications and patients with resistant hypertension being treated with three or more different antihypertensive medications, one of which is a diuretic. The trial also successfully met all secondary endpoints. Patients with uncontrolled or treatment resistant hypertension received baxdrostat or placebo on top of standard of care.
Baxdrostat is an oral highly selective aldosterone synthase inhibitor (ASI) that targets the hormone driving elevated blood pressure and increased cardiovascular and renal risk. AstraZeneca picked up the asset through its $1.3 billion acquisition of CinCor in January 2023. AstraZeneca was keen on the drug from the start, saying it “represents a potentially leading next-generation ASI,” and outlining plans to combine it with its own diabetes drug, Farxiga.
Baxdrostat is currently being investigated in clinical trials as a monotherapy for hypertension and primary aldosteronism, a hormonal disorder. The drug is also being investigated in combination with Farxiga for chronic kidney disease and the prevention of heart failure in high-risk hypertensive patients.
AstraZeneca says it will share the recent trial results with regulatory authorities around the world and present it in a late‑breaking Hot Line session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in August 2025.