Discontinued cardiovascular drugs in 2013 and 2014.

INTRODUCTION: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death globally. The dramatically high rate of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has attracted wide concern and great attention within the pharmaceutical industry. However, ∼ 10,000 compounds are tested for every one drug that reaches the market. For this reason, it is helpful to recapitulate previous failures and learn from these experiences. AREAS COVERED: This paper focuses on the 10 cardiovascular drugs discontinued after reaching animal studies or Phase I - II clinical trials between 1 January 2013 and 31 December 2014. EXPERT OPINION: The trend of increasing numbers of cardiovascular drug development terminations seen in recent years has changed. Only 10 cardiovascular drugs were discontinued after reaching animal studies or Phase I - II clinical trials between 2013 and 2014. Only two candidates were discontinued in the Phase I clinical evaluation, and eight were discontinued during Phase II development. Most discontinuations were attributed to lack of efficacy and safety. One orphan drug (RTA-402) appeared in the list of discontinued cardiovascular drugs. The most eye-catching one of the 10 discontinued drugs is RG-7652, a monoclonal antibody against PCSK9, which is predicted as the next statin.