NICE recommends Entresto (sacubitril + valsartan) to treat heart failure- Novartis

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ( NICE) has issued a draft guidance recommending Entresto (sacubitril + valsartan) from Novartis for treatment of chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. That is, for New York Heart Association Class II to Class III symptom patients who take a stable dose of ACE inhibitors (or angiotensin II receptor antagonists) and who have a left ventricular ejection fraction of 35% or less.

Comment: Entresto is the first treatment to offer a significant mortality benefit over an ACE inhibitor, which is evidenced by the results of the PARADIGM-HF trial when Entresto reduced the risk of death from cardiovascular causes by 20% and heart failure hospitalisations by 21%. when compared to patients taking the ACE inhibitor enalapril. Novartis reported, "LCZ 696 (Entresto) and enalapril patients remained under care for approximately the same time, but those on LCZ 696 had 18% fewer stays in intensive care and were 31% less likely to need IV drugs to help their heart pump. Patients' reports of how well they felt and doctors' assessments of disease severity were also significantly better with LCZ 696 than enalapril."