Single-Pill strategy to beat cardiovascular diseases
Context:
- In a major policy change, the WHO has recently included three fixed dose combinations of cardiovascular medicines or polypills 2023 for use in primary and secondary prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases.
- Evidence from large randomised-controlled trials shows that use of the polypill is associated with reduced risks of cardiovascular events, including fatal and non-fatal myocardial infarction and stroke.
- The polypill is thus an important low-cost public health intervention which can prevent over millions of cardiovascular events and deaths every year.
- The polypill is not a new drug but a drug delivery mechanism, which improves medication adherence (because it is a single pill) and saves money by preventing hospitalisations.
- One of the polypills that has been included in the EML is Polycap. This four-drug combination includes simvastatin, ramipril, atenolol, hydrochlorothiazide along with acetylsalicylic acid or aspirin.
- Fixed Dose Combinations refer to products containing one or more active ingredients used for a particular indication(s).
- These FDCs combine two or more active drugs in a single dosage form, like a tablet or capsule.
- APIs are the active components in a pharmaceutical drug that produce the required effect on the body to treat a condition. APIs are produced by processing chemical compounds.
- APIs are broadly categorized into two types: synthetic and natural, synthetic drugs are processed in the labs to produce therapeutic effects unlike natural drugs which are found in nature.