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ERICA Trial Results Showing Ranolazine Extended-Release Tablets Reduce Angina Frequency and Nitroglycerin Consumption
PALO ALTO, CA -- June 19, 2006 -- CV Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) has published data from the Efficacy of Ranolazine In Chronic Angina (ERICA) trial. In the ERICA trial, Ranexa(R) (ranolazine extended-release tablets) significantly reduced angina frequency (P =.028) and nitoglycerin consumption (P =.014) in angina patients compared to placebo.
Forty-five percent of patients in the study were on concomitant long acting nitrates. Ranexa was well tolerated and there were no observed differences in the frequency of serious adverse events between Ranexa and placebo.
"Angina places a tremendous burden on patients, their families and the healthcare system, and the results of the ERICA study highlight how ranolazine could benefit a portion of this population," said Peter Stone, MD, lead author of the publication and co-director, Samuel A. Levine Cardiac Unit, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "Ranolazine represents the first new pharmaceutical approach in decades for physicians to consider in treating appropriate angina patients."
Ranexa is approved in the United States as a second-line treatment for chronic angina and has antianginal and anti-ischemic effects that do not depend upon reductions in heart rate or blood pressure. Ranexa should be used in combination with amlodipine, beta-blockers or nitrates. According to the approved labeling, because Ranexa prolongs the QT interval, it should be reserved for patients who have not achieved an adequate response with other antianginal drugs. The effect on angina rate or exercise tolerance appeared to be smaller in women than men.
The ERICA study was published online by JACC and is expected to be included in a future print edition of JACC. An editorial from John Cairns, MD, professor of cardiology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, accompanies the publication.
SOURCE: CV Therapeutics, Inc.
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