Pharmaceutics

This page contains key pharmaceutical news on drug recalls, FDA clearance, safety communications and research. In cardiology, key pharmaceutic agents include antiplatelet therapies, anticoagulants, hypertension drugs, and drugs for heart failure and arrhythmias.

COVID-19, other infections linked to major cardiovascular risks—researchers push for vaccination
Adults are three times as likely to have a heart attack or stroke after a COVID-19 infection than when they are healthy. The risks are even greater for the flu.
Novo Nordisk, Pfizer enter bidding war for biotech startup—and it is getting ugly
Pfizer was all set to acquire New York City-based Metsera for $4.9 billion, but Novo Nordisk stepped in with an unexpected counteroffer of $6.5 billion. Both companies hope to add Metsera's drugs to their GLP-1 portfolios.
Nearly 600K bottles of blood pressure drug recalled due to carcinogen risk
The FDA has detailed three voluntary recalls for prazosin hydrochloride, a medication used to treat hypertension, due to safety concerns.
Clinical trials paused due to heart patient’s hospitalization
Intellia Therapeutics paused clinical trials for ATTR-CM and ATTR-PN after a patient was hospitalized due to a significant liver injury.
New drug recall includes more than 140K bottles of popular statin
According to the FDA, the drugs are not dissolving correctly. This can impact their ability to lower a patient’s cholesterol as intended.

Work begins on first ATTR-CM study of its kind

ACT-EARLY is testing the hypothesis that treating asymptomatic carriers of a pathogenic TTR variant with the drug acoramidis could delay amyloidosis from developing.

Semaglutide works fast, protecting the heart before weight loss kicks in

"These results highlight semaglutide’s early action on decreasing major cardiovascular events," one cardiologist explained.

Many attendees shot selfies in front of the the massive heart on display in the Cytokinetic booth at AHA 2022.

New drug for obstructive HCM outperforms the current standard of care

Cytokinetics announced positive results from a new clinical trial comparing aficamten monotherapy to the beta blocker metoprolol.

Obicetrapib linked to substantial reductions in LDL cholesterol for high-risk heart patients

Researchers shared new studies on the highly selective CETP inhibitor in The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet.

High Lp(a) levels increase risk of repeat cardiovascular events—LDL drugs may help

Researchers evaluated data from more than 273,000 patients with a history of ASCVD, noting that higher Lp(a) levels are consistently linked to worse cardiovascular outcomes.

tirzepatide injections Zepbound Eli Lilly

Tirzepatide bests semaglutide in patients with type 2 diabetes, kidney disease and heart failure

Researchers examined data from more than 9,000 patients, sharing their findings at SCAI 2025.

doctor with overweight patient who may be treated with TAVR or surgery

Bayer's finerenone reduces risk of AFib, atrial flutter in all CKM syndrome patients

New data published in JACC represents another big win for Bayer's finerenone. The drug has previously been linked to cardiovascular benefits for patients with CKD and heart failure, but its potential across the full CKM spectrum remained a bit of a mystery.

Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, MBA, Director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and the Dr. Valentin Fuster Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, explains what he sees as the top recent trials impacting acute coronary syndrome care (ACS).

Tracking major trends and clinical research in acute coronary syndrome care

Deepak Bhatt, MD, detailed several recent clinical trials that could reshape the way clinicians manage acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients.

Pharmaceutics

COVID-19, other infections linked to major cardiovascular risks—researchers push for vaccination

Novo Nordisk, Pfizer enter bidding war for biotech startup—and it is getting ugly

Nearly 600K bottles of blood pressure drug recalled due to carcinogen risk

Clinical trials paused due to heart patient’s hospitalization

New drug recall includes more than 140K bottles of popular statin