A NEW drug which lowers the heart rate and reduces chest pains for heart patients as effectively as standard drugs, but with fewer side effects, was launched here yesterday by French drug company Servier.
The drug, ivabradine, will probably be most useful for about a third of heart patients who need medication to relieve their chest pains, but for whom standard drugs do not work or cannot be used, cardiologists say.
The drug was launched in Europe in 2005 and is already available in 45 countries.
About 4 per cent of the population here, or about 100,000 people, suffer from angina, or intermittent episodes of chest pains that usually stem from clogged arteries impeding oxygen-carrying blood from reaching the heart.
Many patients are given a type of standard drug called beta blockers, which slows down their heart rate and eases the pains.
But beta blockers do not work, or are not suitable, for about a third of patients, said consultant cardiologist Peter Yan.
Those with asthma, for example, cannot use beta blockers as they can cause breathlessness. Other side effects include fatigue, dizziness, dry mouth, eyes and skin, as well as cold hands and feet.
Studies overseas have shown the new drug does not cause most of these side effects. The new drug causes one in 10 users to see flashes of light or feel dizzy, but these usually go away with time.
Studies have also found the new drug to work as well as beta blockers in reducing patients' heart rate and chest pains.
After a year on the new drug, their heart rates were lowered by five to 25 beats per minute, with those who started with heart rates of over 85 beats per minute experiencing the greatest drop.
Patients also had 70 per cent fewer attacks of chest pains.
But the new drug is unlikely to replace beta blockers as it is too costly, among other reasons, said Dr Yan. A day's supply costs about $4, compared to as low as 10 cents a day for older blockers.
It is not known for now if the new drug can reduce heart patients' risk of dying from a heart attack, like beta blockers can.
A three-year study on more than 10,000 patients in 33 countries has been done to investigate this aspect and the results will be announced at a major European health conference at the end of this month.
This article was first published in The Straits Times on August 13, 2008.
