A new class of compounds is being developed for treating cardiovascular disease. The drugs are called vasopeptidase inhibitors, and they have a dual effect of simultaneously inhibiting two enzymes involved in regulation of cardiovascular function: angiotensin converting enzyme and neutral endopeptidase.
The most clinically advanced compound is Bristol-Myers Squibb's omapatrilat.
This drug is being investigated in both hypertension and heart failure. At a company-sponsored session at the American Heart Association conference this week, researchers reported clinical trials in which blood pressure lowering was greater with omapatrilat than with either an ACE inhibitor (lisinopril) or calcium channel blocker (amlodipine). Both trials involved patients with mild to moderate hypertension.