ONTARGET: Protecting high-risk patients

Medical scientists and researchers are continuously undertaking researches and clinical trials which are answering a lot of previously unanswered questions in modern medicine.

Clinical trials have already convincingly shown that sustained management of hypertension significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke and heart-related deaths.

Among the most effective medicines available to physicians is telmisartan, a medicine belonging to the angiotensin II receptor blocker class of drugs.

Telmisartan has been proven by numerous studies to be effective and relatively free of side-effects when used to treat patients with high blood pressure.

GlaxoSmithKline is co-sponsoring the Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial (ONTARGET) Trial Program.

Mainly sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim, ONTARGET is the world’s largest ever cardiovascular protection trial using angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). Over 29,000 patients will be enrolled in the trial.

The announcement was made during the recent Congress of the European Society of Cardiologists (ESC) in Vienna. This major trial consists of two parallel trials: ONTARGET and Telmisartan Randomized Assessment Study in ACE-I Intolerant Subjects with Cardiovascular Disease (TRANSCEND).

It will examine the preventive effects of telmisartan, either alone or in combination with the ACE inhibitor ramipril, on stroke, heart attack, cardiovascular death and hospitalization due to congestive heart failure. TRANSCEND will examine the effect of telmisartan compared to placebo in patients who cannot tolerate the side-effects of an ACE-inhibitor.

Hypertension is a condition wherein the heart has to work harder to pump blood through narrowed arteries. If this condition persists, damage to the heart and blood vessels can occur, increasing the risk for stroke, heart attack and kidney or heart failure, collectively known as cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

CVD is the leading cause of death in the developed world, as well as in some developing countries like the Philippines.

GSK is one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies. Its participation in the ONTARGET Trial Program is part of the company’s continuing commitment to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.