Polypill for Better Health

In a recent British study, a Polypill was tested on people over the age of 50 to see if it would reduce the incidence of heart disease and stroke in people who had no history of these diseases. The pill actually contained four different substances that were designed to decrease blood pressure and cholesterol. All the drugs used were cheap generic drugs that were difficult to manufacture because drug companies want to make newer patented medications because they get more money from them.

Rival pills like this one have been used in patients who already have cardiac risk factors; this is the first in which the researchers believe that everyone over the age of fifty should get treated. The pill was manufactured in India and contains three blood pressure medications and one cholesterol lowering medicine. It cut blood pressure by 12 percent and lowered LDL cholesterol by 39 percent.

It was suggested by the researchers that taking the polypill could reduce the risk of strokes and heart disease by at least two thirds, based on the reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol. Researchers feel this is a milestone in that the polypill did exactly what it was intended to do and was easily taken by people over the age of fifty.

There were some side effects. Some people had muscle aching because of the statin drug; however, this didn’t seem to stop people from taking the medication. The study unfortunately involved only 84 patients who took the pill for only three months. Clearly, more research is necessary regarding taking this type of pill.

In India, in fact, bigger trials involving several hundred patients are being performed in India. Marketing approval for the polypill would take a couple of years before it could go on the market. The Indian studies should satisfy regulators, especially since the components of the polypill are already safely on the market and are known to reduce heart risk.

A pharmaceutical company would need to back the polypill in addition to the parent company who made the pill in India. Profits, however, would likely be modest because they are combining for pills into one. It may be difficult to get on the market but should be worth the effort, researchers claim.

Other polypills are being investigated that are designed to treat people who already have cardiac risk factors and who need blood pressure and cholesterol lowering.