June 30, 2025 (Bloomberg) — An experimental drug from Mineralys Therapeutics Inc. significantly lowered blood pressure in patients with treatment-resistant hypertension in a new study, though several stopped taking it because of side effects.
Patients taking the drug, called lorundrostat, saw their blood pressure fall twice as much as those given standard care in a key study needed to get US approval, according to the findings published Monday in JAMA. The medicine targets aldosterone, the main hormone that controls blood pressure.
The study involved 1,083 patients, one of the largest conducted on novel drugs like lorundrostat for high blood pressure, said Manish Saxena, an author of the paper and a cardiovascular physician at Barts Health NHS Trust in London. There’s an unmet need for new therapies that target the hormone, a key driver in hypertension and treatment-resistant hypertension, he said.
“The drug works consistently in all types of patients,” lowering blood pressure regardless of sex, age, race and body mass index, Saxena said. “It’s just about trying something novel, which could make a big difference to your blood pressure.”
Mineralys didn’t respond to a request for comment.
The drug, a tablet taken once daily, works by reducing production of aldosterone in the adrenal glands. All of the participants were taking between two and five hypertension drugs and still had elevated blood pressure.
In the study, lorundrostat lowered systolic blood pressure, the first number in the reading, by 16 mm Hg, or millimeters of mercury, compared with a decline of just under 8 mm Hg for those who took a placebo for three months. A normal blood pressure reading is 120 mm Hg over 80 mm Hg. Saxena said the results were exciting because of the need for new therapies for hard-to-treat hypertension.
Nine patients given the drug dropped out of the study because of side effects, including high potassium levels, low sodium and impaired kidney function. Roughly half of those in the study experienced mild-to-moderate side effects after starting treatment. Most were transient, Saxena said.
About one in three people globally have high blood pressure, one of the main risk factors for heart disease, the researchers wrote.
