An international clinical trial indicated that finerenone effectively decreased the risk of initial and recurring heart failure (HF) events—such as hospitalizations and urgent visits—along with cardiovascular deaths in patients with heart failure and either mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Conducted by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a key member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare network, the study found that both HF events and cardiovascular fatalities were lower in the group taking finerenone compared to those on a placebo. Although the overall rate of severe adverse events was comparable between groups, instances of hyperkalemia—high potassium levels in the blood—were more frequent in the finerenone group. These findings were shared at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024 and published concurrently in the New England Journal of Medicine.
“We observed benefits irrespective of ejection fraction, even among patients undergoing other approved treatments,” stated Scott Solomon, MD, the principal investigator of the trial and director of the Clinical Trials Outcomes Center at Mass General Brigham. He emphasized that “this medication symbolizes a new class of drugs that could become a key part of treatment for this condition.”
Heart failure signifies a progressive decline in the heart’s capacity to effectively fill and pump blood, impacting more than 60 million individuals globally. Roughly half of those diagnosed with heart failure present with mildly reduced or preserved left ventricular ejection fraction, a condition that currently has limited treatment options. The results indicate that finerenone, a non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist, may offer a new treatment avenue for these patients.
The FINEARTS-HF trial, financed by Bayer, involved 6,000 participants who were assigned to receive either finerenone or a placebo in combination with their ongoing treatments. However, the study’s limitations included a small proportion of Black patients, although their representation was consistent with their regional demographics. “Our team is committed to exploring new therapies for heart failure,” Solomon noted. “There remains significant residual risk among these patients, highlighting the need for additional treatment options.”
Disclosures: Scott Solomon has reported institutional research grants to Brigham and Women’s Hospital from various organizations including Alexion, Alnylam, Applied Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Bellerophon, Bayer, BMS, Boston Scientific, Cytokinetics, Edgewise, Eidos/Bridgebio, Gossamer, GSK, Ionis, Lilly, NIH/NHLBI, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Respicardia, Sanofi Pasteur, Tenaya, Theracos, and US2.
