A new class of antihypertensive agent that blocks the production of aldosterone — a key hormone believed to drive increased blood pressure — has shown impressive results in one of the first pivotal phase 3 trials in patients with resistant or uncontrolled hypertension. 

Use of baxdrostat was associated with a reduction in office-measured systolic blood pressure of around 9 mm Hg at 12 weeks and reductions in 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure of around 15 mm Hg in the BaxHTN trial. 

Presentation of the results prompted spontaneous applause from the audience at the 2025 annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology. The trial was also simultaneously published online in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Bryan Williams, MD, chair of medicine at University College London, United Kingdom, called the new class of drugs “a potential game changer” for patients. “They target the core mechanism contributing to resistant/uncontrolled hypertension and should therefore reduce the future risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and potentially dementia in these patients,” he said.

Source: MEDspace