Government intervention in cardiovascular disease--help or hindrance? The pharmaceutical industry viewpoint.

The health of its people is a matter of importance for any responsible government. This is primarily achieved through ensuring adequate standards of nutrition, housing, and hygiene. The government has additionally to ensure the provision of an effective and affordable health care system. This must deliver adequate medical resources that are readily available for those who fall ill. Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of mortality in the Western world. Thus, it is incumbent on the government to provide health care for those who suffer from cardiovascular disease. There is a further obligation to promote a healthy life-style in the community by providing dietary advice and discouraging avoidable risk factors (e.g., smoking). Life-style changes are not easy and may be insufficient to beneficially influence the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. The pharmaceutical industry, therefore, plays an integral role in health care delivery by providing doctors with the medicines to manage those patients who suffer from cardiovascular disease, for whom life-style changes have not provided the answer. In most european countries, the pharmaceutical industry operates within tight government regulatory confines which define efficacy and safety of medicines. In those countries where there is a socialized health care policy, the prices of medicines are regulated by the government. Thus government intervention in most European countries is a fact of life for the industry, and the manner in which it exercises its powers will have a critical effect on whether the intervention is a help or hindrance.

Relationship between positive inotropic responses and plasma concentrations of xamoterol in middle-aged and elderly patients.

1. We examined the relationship between the contractile state of the left ventricle and the plasma concentration of xamoterol in patients with ischaemic heart failure. 2. Identical studies were conducted in 14 middle-aged (all male; mean age 51.3 years, range 42-61) and 10 elderly patients (six male, four female; mean age 67.7 years, range 64-72). 3. Patients received seven cumulative doses (0.0005-0.2 mg kg-1) of xamoterol. After each dose the rate of change of pressure in the left ventricle at a developed pressure of 40 mm Hg and normalised for this pressure, (dP/dt)/DP40, and plasma concentrations of xamoterol were measured. 4. There were dose-related increases in (dP/dt)/DP40. Curves relating changes in (dP/dt)/DP40, expressed as a percent of the maximum observed response, to changes in xamoterol plasma concentrations were constructed for the middle-aged and elderly patients. From these curves the mean effective concentration (EC) value to produce a particular response could be calculated. In the sample sizes studied, the difference between the EC values over a range of responses for the middle-aged and elderly patients did not reach statistical significance, indicating that cardiac responsiveness to xamoterol was similar in the two groups of patients. 5. Plasma concentrations of xamoterol over the range of 39 to 150 ng ml-1 produced positive inotropic responses which varied between 70% and 90% of the maximum observed effect of xamoterol.

The effect of oral dosing of xamoterol on systolic time intervals in man and xamoterol plasma concentrations in heart failure patients.

1. Six healthy male human volunteers of mean age 30.8 years (range 23-37) were given single oral doses of xamoterol (20, 50, 100 or 250 mg) and placebo with a 1 week interval between each dose. Xamoterol produced a significant decrease in systolic time intervals (QS2I, LVETI and PEPI) and a significant increase in systolic blood pressure indicating a positive inotropic effect on the heart at rest. The changes in QS2I were dose-related. Maximum decreases in QS2I were noted 1 to 2 h after dosing and were achieved with a dose of 100 mg. 2. In a second study, oral administration of xamoterol at 3 doses (100, 200 or 300 mg) and placebo were studied in 12 patients of mean age 60.4 years (range 52-73) with mild to moderate heart failure. Each dose was given twice daily for 7 days in a random order. Each dose of xamoterol produced a significant decrease in systolic time intervals indicating a positive inotropic effect on the heart at rest in patients with heart failure. It was not possible to distinguish between the effects of the three doses of xamoterol. 3. In heart failure patients, peak plasma concentrations of xamoterol occurred 1 to 2 h after dosing at all dosage levels and there was a linear relationship between dose and plasma concentration. 4. In both studies xamoterol was well tolerated and only minor adverse experiences were reported. 5. We conclude that, at rest, xamoterol has a positive inotropic effect on the heart when given orally to healthy volunteers or patients with mild to moderate heart failure.

Xamoterol monotherapy in heart failure. The European 'Corwin' Group.

The effect of xamoterol as sole therapy was investigated in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies involving 425 patients with mild to moderate heart failure. When compared with placebo, xamoterol produced improvements in exercise capacity, clinical signs, symptoms and quality of life with a low incidence of adverse experiences. Xamoterol is effective as monotherapy in heart failure.

Review of clinical experience with xamoterol. Effects on exercise capacity and symptoms in heart failure.

The sympathetic nervous system becomes activated in heart failure, and while this is initially beneficial, the consequences of prolonged raised levels of catecholamines can be counterproductive. Xamoterol, a partial agonist that acts on the cardiac beta 1-adrenergic receptor, modifies the response of the heart to variations in sympathetic activity. At rest, it produces modest improvements in cardiac contractility, relaxation, and filling without increase in myocardial oxygen demand. The improvements are maintained during exercise although the attendant tachycardia is attenuated. The beneficial effects of xamoterol on both systolic and diastolic function suggested that it would be effective in patients with mild-to-moderate heart failure, and this was demonstrated in small placebo-controlled studies where effort tolerance and symptoms were improved. A large multicenter study program comprised of four studies demonstrated that patients with mild-to-moderate heart failure randomized to xamoterol (n = 617) 200 mg b.i.d. for 3 months significantly (p less than 0.0001) improved exercise capacity by 37% as compared with the placebo group (n = 300) with an increase of 18%. The xamoterol group also showed significant improvements in symptoms of breathlessness, fatigue, and life values as compared with the placebo group. In one of the multicenter studies in which 433 patients were randomized to xamoterol (n = 220), placebo (n = 109), and a positive control, digoxin 0.125 mg b.i.d. (n = 104), the percentages of improvement in exercise work were 33%, 5%, and 17%, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Xamoterol, a beta 1-adrenoceptor partial agonist: review of the clinical efficacy in heart failure.

1. Xamoterol (Corwin, Carwin, Corwil, Xamtol, ICI 118,587), a beta 1-adrenoceptor partial agonist, improves both systolic and diastolic function in heart failure patients. 2. Double-blind, randomised studies comparing xamoterol with placebo showed that the beneficial haemodynamic effects of xamoterol produced significant improvements in exercise capacity and symptoms in patients with mild to moderate heart failure. These studies formed the basis for a large European multicentre study programme which recruited over 1000 patients, randomised to xamoterol (200 mg twice daily, n = 617), digoxin (0.125 mg twice daily, n = 135) or placebo (n = 300) for 3 months. 3. Efficacy was assessed by measuring exercise capacity and symptoms. The xamoterol group improved exercise capacity by 37% compared with an 18% improvement in the placebo group. Differences in the symptom scores measured by visual analogue scales and Likert scores indicated significant improvements by xamoterol in the cardinal symptoms of heart failure, dyspnoea and fatigue. 4. Analyses of data from subsets of patients in the study showed that elderly patients, patients on no other heart failure therapy and patients with cardiomegaly all had similar improvements in exercise and symptoms to those seen in the whole study population. In the subset which included digoxin treatment, xamoterol produced significantly greater improvements in exercise capacity than digoxin (33% vs 17%, P less than 0.05) and was associated with fewer side-effects. 5. Xamoterol is therefore a promising addition to heart failure therapies currently available.

The effect of age and renal impairment on the pharmacokinetics of xamoterol.

The effects of age and renal function on the pharmacokinetics and plasma concentrations of xamoterol were examined. Peak and steady state concentrations were higher in older patients, but this was due to deterioration of renal function rather than to age itself. The dose of xamoterol only need be reduced in the elderly if there is evidence of impaired renal function.

Pharmacokinetics of xamoterol after intravenous and oral administration to volunteers.

The pharmacokinetics of xamoterol, a beta-adrenoceptor partial agonist under clinical evaluation for the treatment of mild to moderate heart failure, have been studied in 12 healthy male subjects. They received 14 mg i.v. and oral doses of 50 and 200 mg as a tablet and 200 mg as a solution in a 4 way cross-over design. After i.v. dosing the elimination half-life was 7.7 h, the total body clearance was 224 ml.min-1 and the volume of distribution at steady-state (Vss) was 48 l. Sixty-two percent of the dose was recovered unchanged in urine. After oral doses, the absolute bioavailability of xamoterol was shown to be 5% irrespective of whether the dose was administered as a tablet or solution. Peak plasma concentrations occurred at about 2 h for the tablet dose and slightly earlier (1.4 h) for the solution. Peak plasma concentration, AUC and urinary recovery of unchanged drug increased in proportion to dose. The apparent elimination half-life after oral doses (16 h) was significantly longer than that observed after an intravenous dose. Despite the low bioavailability, the degree of inter-subject variability of oral bioavailability was small probably indicating that the controlling factor is the hydrophilic nature of the molecule rather than extensive first pass metabolism or poor dissolution of xamoterol from the tablet formulation.

Left ventricular sensitivity to beta-adrenoceptor-stimulating drugs in patients with ischemic heart disease and varying degrees of ventricular dysfunction.

The left ventricular sensitivity to sympathomimetic amines was assessed in 47 patients with ischemic heart disease and varying degrees of left ventricular dysfunction. Patients were divided into 3 subgroups according to their basal ejection fraction (less than or equal to 35%, between 36 and 54%, and greater than or equal to 55%). After injection of a bolus of isoproterenol (2 micrograms), the isovolumic indexes of inotropic state increased significantly less in patients with an ejection fraction less than or equal to 35% than in other patients, but the heart rate changes and the acceleration in the rate of isovolumic pressure fall were comparable in all subgroups. The dose-response curves to cumulative doses of xamoterol, a beta 1-adrenoceptor partial agonist, confirmed that the magnitude of the inotropic response was reduced during beta 1-stimulation in patients with an ejection fraction less than or equal to 35% when compared with patients with a greater ejection fraction. However, the dose of xamoterol necessary to produce 50% of the maximal inotropic response was not increased in patients with an ejection fraction less than or equal to 35% (range, 1.5-5.2 micrograms/kg; median 2.5 vs. median values of 2.3 and 3.3 micrograms/kg in the other subgroups; NS), and there was no shift to the right of the dose-response curve. It is concluded that in moderate ischemic heart failure, the magnitude of the inotropic response to isoproterenol or xamoterol is reduced. The absence of shift to the right of the dose-response curve to a beta 1-partial agonist suggests that this alteration in myocardial performance is not primarily caused by a decrease in beta-adrenoceptor responsiveness.

The effects and dose-response relationship of xamoterol in patients with ischaemic heart disease.

1. In a double-blind placebo controlled four-way crossover study the effects and dose response relationships of xamoterol were studied in nine patients with angina and dyspnoea secondary to chronic left ventricular dysfunction. The duration of exercise on a treadmill and heart rate were measured at the end of each phase of the study at 2 h and 24 h after dosing. 2. Xamoterol at 200 mg and 400 mg orally once daily had no effect on the mean resting heart rate but there was a small (5.7 beats min-1) but significant reduction in resting heart rate on 600 mg at 2-2.5 h after dosing. All three doses of xamoterol significantly reduced the maximum exercise heart rate at 2-2.5 h after dosing. 3. Xamoterol at all three doses significantly increased exercise duration at 2-2.5 h after dosing but not at 24 h. 4. Mean plasma xamoterol concentration at both 2-2.5 h and 24 h after dosing were dose related. The EC50 for xamoterol is 33.5 ng ml-1, where EC50 is the effective plasma concentration required to produce 50% of the maximum effect on exercise heart rate.

The effects of ICI 118,587 and atenolol on the responses to exercise and on breathlessness in healthy subjects.

The effects of ICI 118,587 and atenolol on the responses to submaximal exercise and on breathlessness were studied in six healthy subjects. Atenolol reduced heart rate at rest and during exercise whereas ICI 118,587 increased resting heart rate but caused a small reduction in the highest heart rate achieved during exercise. Neither ICI 118,587 nor atenolol significantly changed minute ventilation or oxygen uptake either at rest or during exercise. There were no effects on bronchomotor tone. The assessment of breathlessness was validated for the subjects participating in the study. Atenolol increased the intensity of breathlessness in relation either to ventilation or to oxygen uptake. This effect was not secondary to a change in bronchomotor tone but was possibly related to changes in pulmonary haemodynamics. On the other hand, the relationships of breathlessness to ventilation or to oxygen uptake were unchanged by ICI 118,587. The effects of ICI 118,587 on exercise tolerance and dyspnoea in patients with impaired cardiac function should now be determined.