The myosin activator: is another step forward in heart failure therapy?

Selective cardiac myosin activators constitute a new class of drugs capable of increasing cardiac contractility independently of intracellular calcium concentrations. In the GALACTIC-HF study, the first of this class of molecules, omecamtiv mercabil, was compared with the standard of care according to current guidelines, showing a significant reduction in the composite endpoint of first episode of heart failure or mortality due to cardiovascular causes in patients exposed to treatment compared with placebo. In particular, the effect was more pronounced for decreasing ejection fraction values, suggesting a potential further benefit of selective cardiac myosin activators in this category of patients.