Biotechnology company Amgen presented the data at the European Society of Cardiology-Heart Failure Congress.
Approximately 20 to 30% of people diagnosed with heart failure also suffer from anemia, resulting in increased risk of morbidity and mortality versus patients who suffer from heart failure without anemia. Even though there are current, approved therapies to treat heart failure, a significant unmet medical need to treat the disease and its complications still exists.
The results from the pooled analysis of the phase II trials validate Amgen's phase III RED-HF trial to address this unmet medical need.
“These results are especially encouraging because, currently, there are no approved treatments to address the debilitating effects of anemia associated with symptomatic heart failure,” said Dr Dirk van Veldhuisen, Department of Cardiology/Thoracic Surgery, University Medical Center, Groningen, Netherlands.