Roche, Alnylam Move Hypertension Drug to Late-Stage Trial

By Adria Calatayud

Roche Holding and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals said they decided to move experimental hypertension drug zilebesiran to a late-stage trial after results from mid-stage studies showed mixed results.

The pharmaceutical companies said Saturday that the third phase of a mid-stage trial for zilebesiran in patients with uncontrolled hypertension and high cardiovascular risk showed reductions in systolic blood pressure at the third month of treatment that were sustained out to the sixth month. However, the study didn't reach a level the companies considered statistically significant.

The study did achieve the aim of identifying the patient population that could potentially benefit the most from zilebesiran, Roche and Alnylam said.

The companies said their decision to advance to a late-stage trial was based on the whole mid-stage program, which included two previous studies that met their main objectives. The trial is due to start by the end of the year, they said.

Zilebesiran is a twice-yearly therapy that harnesses a natural cellular process of gene silencing--fighting the disease by interfering wit the genes driving it--known as RNA interference, Roche and Alnylam said.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 01, 2025 02:23 ET (06:23 GMT)