Closed Loop and Pharmanovia investigate precision medicine combination in hypertension

The OptiZest study aims to investigate a personalised dose of Zestril in these patients

Closed Loop Medicine and Pharmanovia have announced the initiation of a new study and patient recruitment to investigate a precision medicine combination therapy in patients living with hypertension.

Supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the OptiZest study will investigate whether a personalised dose of Zestril (lisinopril) could help improve blood pressure control in patients with hypertension while at home.

The announcement builds on the companies’ ongoing co-development partnership, which was announced in May 2023, combining Pharmanovia’s medicine brands with Closed Loop’s technology to provide dose-optimised personalised therapies.

Affecting over one in four men and one in five women, hypertension is a condition that occurs when blood pressure in the blood vessels is too high.

In an effort to progress the development and launch of a drug plus software combination version of a first-line anti-hypertensive in the UK, the study will comprise Closed Loop’s proprietary Software-as-a-Medical Device (SaMD) dose optimisation technology with Pharmanovia’s established medicine brands to develop an innovative intervention for patients and healthcare professionals.

Building on recent trial data, the SaMD platform has already demonstrated its ability to successfully control blood pressure, minimise side effects and support medication adherence in patients in addition to another first-line anti-hypertensive.

Dr Hakim Yadi, chief executive officer and co-founder, Closed Loop, commented: “The OptiZest study… not only represents a milestone in hypertension management but also underscores our broader mission to support healthcare systems in improving patient outcomes across diverse therapeutic areas.”

Dr James Burt, chief executive officer, Pharmanovia, said: “Starting by delivering much-needed innovation to hypertension management, this study sets the stage for development and launch of one of the first drug and software combination products for hypertension.”

In February 2024, Closed Loop shared positive results of its personalised hypertension drug, CLM-HT01, from the PERSONAL-COVIDBP clinical trial, which was published in the Journal of the American Heart, to control blood pressure while minimising adverse reactions and supporting medical adherence in patients living with the condition.