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Published on: February 28, 2012
An analysis of FDA-approved drugs for cardiovascular diseases
Michael S Kinch1, Yulia Surovtseva1, Denton Hoyer1
1Yale Center for Molecular Discovery, West Haven, CT 06516, USA.
Insights
Cardiovascular disease treatments are stable but lack diverse targets and mechanisms. Public health requires both incremental improvements and innovative approaches to combat this leading cause of death.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular medicine
- Drug development
- Public health
Background:
- Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are now more prevalent than infectious diseases globally.
- Drug development for CVDs has been stable despite shifts in other therapeutic areas.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs for cardiovascular disease treatment.
- To analyze the scope of targets and mechanisms in recent cardiovascular drug development.
Main Methods:
- Review of FDA-approved drugs for cardiovascular diseases.
- Analysis of the breadth of therapeutic targets.
- Evaluation of the mechanistic actions of new cardiovascular drugs.
Main Results:
- Cardiovascular drug development shows a stable enterprise.
- Analysis reveals a narrow scope in terms of drug targets and mechanistic actions.
- Current innovations primarily represent incremental changes.
Conclusions:
- While cardiovascular drug development is stable, there's a need for broader innovation.
- Orthogonal innovations are crucial to address the significant morbidity and mortality caused by CVDs.
- Balancing incremental progress with novel strategies is essential for public health impact.
Abstract:
Following the introduction of antibiotic therapy and widespread inoculations, cardiovascular diseases have leapt ahead of infectious diseases in terms of prevalence in much of the developed and developing world. Herein, we assess FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The drug development enterprise around cardiovascular diseases has remained stable in contrast to turbulent changes in other therapeutic indications. However, upon closer inspection, the results identify narrow scope in terms of the breadth of targets and the mechanistic actions of new drugs. From the public health point of view, it is important to balance incremental change with orthogonal innovations that are needed to combat a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.
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