A new drug for high blood pressure has been approved for use in the United States, following positive results from BRC-supported research.
AstraZeneca’s Baxfendy (baxdrostat) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure) in adults whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled by existing anti-hypertensive medications.
The approval was based on results from the global phase 3 BaxHTN trial, led by Prof Bryan Williams (UCL Cardiovascular Institute), which showed that baxdrostat substantially lowers blood pressure in people who do not respond to existing medications.
Baxdrostat works by reducing levels of aldosterone, a hormone that can drive high blood pressure in some people. Targeting aldosterone in this way represents a novel approach to treating hypertension.
Results from the BaxHTN trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in August 2025, showed that after 12 weeks, patients taking baxdrostat (1 mg or 2 mg once daily in pill form) experienced blood pressure reductions around 9-10 mmHg greater than those seen with placebo - a decrease large enough to reduce cardiovascular risk. About four in 10 patients reached healthy blood pressure levels, compared with fewer than two in 10 patients taking placebo.
Prof Williams, who is Chair of Medicine at UCL and the primary investigator of BaxHTN, said: “We have been waiting for an innovative medication like Baxfendy for hypertension for many years. Its novel way of lowering blood pressure has the potential to transform clinical practice by targeting a root cause of persistently uncontrolled hypertension. Data indicate that a 10 mmHg decrease in systolic blood pressure is associated with a roughly 20% lower risk of serious cardiovascular events.”
The research team hopes that approval in the UK and EU will soon follow the FDA’s approval in the United States.
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