( Comparison of BENICAR HCT 40/12.5 and 4...)Benicar HCT Reductions in Seated Systolic Blood Pressure for Stage,2 Patients Compared With Amlodipine + Benazepril,Health

PARSIPPANY, N.J., May 21, 2007 /PRNewswire/ -- New data presented today at the American Society of Hypertension's Twenty-Second Annual Scientific Meeting (ASH 2007) in Chicago demonstrated that the fixed-dose combination Benicar HCT (olmesartan medoxomil/hydrochlorothiazide) was associated with a greater mean reduction in seated systolic blood pressure (SeSBP) at 12 weeks (primary endpoint) in patients with Stage 2 hypertension, compared with amlodipine + benazepril study doses(1). Systolic blood pressure is considered a better predictor of major cardiovascular adverse events than is diastolic blood pressure, particularly in older individuals. Blood pressure reductions with BENICAR HCT and amlodipine + benazepril were examined.

After 12 weeks of treatment, patients receiving BENICAR HCT 40 mg/12.5-25 mg saw their SeSBP drop a mean of 33* points from baseline (167/102 mm Hg vs. 133/84 mm Hg), compared with a mean of 27* points from baseline (167/101 mm Hg vs. 140/86 mm Hg) for patients receiving amlodipine + benazepril 5/20 mg and 10/20 mg, according to the study.

The purpose of this study was to compare the blood pressure (BP) lowering effect of fixed dose combinations of BENICAR HCT 40/12.5 mg and 40/25 mg and amlodipine + benazepril 5/20 mg and 10/20 mg. No comparisons were made with amlodipine + benazepril 10/40 mg, the current maximum dose of this combination, because it was not available at the time this study was designed and initiated.

"The efficacy data results show a benefit for patients receiving either therapy, while those receiving BENICAR HCT showed a greater reduction," said Henry Punzi, MD, of the Punzi Medical Center and Hypertension Research Institute, Carrollton, TX, one of the study inves
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