Leading pharma company Cadila Pharmaceuticals, in collaboration with McMaster University of Hamilton, Canada, has announced its plans to launch a product worldwide to bring down cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The product is a result of an intense research targeted at asymptomatic healthy people.
IA Modi, chairman Cadila Pharmaceuticals said, "Worldwide, cardio vascular diseases are the leading cause of death and disability. Despite the best of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, the challenge to decrease mortality and morbidity stands, because cardiac malfunction does not necessarily happen in patients with symptoms. Various therapies are currently available for secondary prophylaxis of cardiovascular diseases but none for primary prophylaxis. Studies show that cardio vascular death (CVD) burden in developed countries were 5.3 million in the year 1990 whereas in developing countries it was 7-8 million.
With the burgeoning epidemic of CVD, especially in low income countries, effective preventive strategies need to be urgently implemented. Cadila Pharma took it as a challenge to develop a therapy to address primary prophylaxis.”
The group conducted a trial across 53 centres in India on 2053 healthy subjects. JP Parswani, president, Cadila Pharmaceuticals commented, "A research team comprising of 57 cardiologists, led by Dr Salim Yusuf, dean, cardiovascular services worked for two years at McMaster University, Hamilton to make the hypothesis a success.
The research team has come up with a comprehensive treatment that is going to set a benchmark in the treatment of cardio vascular diseases. The product would help reduce the cardiovascular morbidity and mortality."
According to Arun Maseeh, vice president – medical services, "Risk prevention in CVD can be approached from two levels: at the individual level and at population level. And two interventions are available to reduce risk factor levels, namely lifestyle modifications and drugs.
Unfortunately lifestyle modifications related interventions have not largely been successful, as individuals were targeted rather that entire population with a few exceptions. It is therefore time to seriously consider drugs to halt the rapid advancement of CVD related mortality, especially in developing countries. We have tested the hypothesis of Wald and Law, comprehensively in a multicentre randomized, controlled, double-blind trial – The Indian Polycap Study (TIPS)."
