The newest beta-blocker: will it sell?

It is the 19^th of its kind in the market. No wonder cardiovascular experts were not that excited when the US FDA approved the selective beta-blocker Bystolic (nebivolol) this month [1].

However, nebivolol has some characteristics that other beta-blockers don’t have.

Efficacy

Nebivolol offers a new treatment option for hypertension through its “added pharmacological properties of producing vasodilation and reducing total peripheral resistance brought about by modulation of nitric-oxide release.” These properties make the drug more effective than traditional beta-blockers [2].

Safety

Compared to traditional beta-blockers, nebivolol causes relatively lower incidence of side effects normally associated with this class of drugs [1,2]. “Nebivolol is a so-called vasodilating beta blocker. Thus, in contrast to traditional beta blockers, it is more patient friendly in that it maintains systemic flow and blood flow to target organs, lowers vascular resistance, and has very little, if any, metabolic adverse effects”, according to one expert [2].

Both the manufacturer (Mylan Bertek Pharmaceuticals) and the marketing company (Forest Laboratories) hope these properties would be the selling point to make the drug attractive to both doctors and patients.

The main competitors of nebivolol would be the similar but non-selective beta-blocker carvedilol as well as cheap generics.

Sources:

FDA News 17 Dec 07

Heartwire 19 Dec 07

December 25, 2007. Cardiology/CVD, Drug development. 1 Comment.