Pfizer releases results of REMINDER trial

Pfizer has announced the results of its REMINDER trial, which supports treatment with Inspra (eplernone) within the first 24 hours of symptoms along with standard therapy in patients with acute STEMI without health failure.

The results were presented for the first time during the Late Breaker Clinical Trial session at the 62nd Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology in San Francisco.

The REMINDER trial was a randomized, double-blind trial that involved 1,012 patients with the condition who did not have a history of HF or EF.

Patients were given either elpernone or placebo as well as standard therapy, with treatment being initiated within the first 24 hours of symptoms.

The REMINDER trial showed a statistically significant 42.9 per cent relative risk reduction in the primary endpoint with p < 0.0001 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.439, 0.742) in patients with acute STEMI when eplerenone was initiated within the first 24 hours of onset of symptoms.

Overall, the adverse events found in the REMINDER trial were consistent with those already established for eplernone, including hyperkalemia.

The improvement in outcome was primarily driven by a substantial reduction of the BNP/NT-proBNP biomarker component at one month.

BNP/NT-proBNP has been found to be an important marker for short- and long-term prognosis in patients with myocardial infarction in the presence or absence of preserved ejection fraction.

During the course of the study, the incidence of hyperkalemia occurred in 5.6 per cent vs 3.2 per cent in the eplernone and placebo groups respectively.

Hypokalemia occurred more regularly in the placebo group with 1.4 per cent vs 5.5 per cent in the eplernone and placebo groups, the prep work showed.

Professor Gilles Montalescot, the chair of the REMINDER Steering Committee Institute of Cardiology, said: "Eplerenone improved the outcome of patients presenting with acute STEMI and without concomitant heart failure. This benefit was obtained in a low-risk population that was well treated, without serious adverse drug effect."