GlaxoSmithKline heart disease drug misses key target

GlaxoSmithKline's heart disease drug, darapladib, has missed a key milestone in its development. The trial drug, which is designed to tackle heart problems in a totally different way to cholesterol-lowering medication, was in the first of two "pivotal" late-stage clinical studies. Patrick Vallance, President of Pharmaceuticals research and development, said: "Given the level of patient need in this area, we continue to investigate the role of Lp-PLA2 inhibition in coronary heart disease and other diseases. We will now work to better understand the data, including evaluation of the patient sub-groups, and await the outcome of a second Phase III study of darapladib in acute coronary syndrome, called SOLID-TIMI 52, to determine our next steps."More positively, the group also said there were greater reductions of major adverse cardiovascular events in some of the pre-defined secondary endpoints that would require further analysis.NR