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New Heart Drug Shows Major Symptom Relief
28 Aug
Summary
- Aficamten significantly improved symptoms in a heart condition.
- The drug is being considered for non-obstructive HCM.
- Some patients experienced a drop in heart pumping capacity.
Detailed late-stage data presented on August 28, 2026, showed Cytokinetics' drug, aficamten, significantly improved symptoms and exercise capacity in patients suffering from a genetic heart condition. This data will be crucial for supporting the biotech company's supplemental U.S. marketing application, which is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Aficamten, already approved as Myqorzo for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM), is now being evaluated for non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (nHCM). The trial revealed that 53% of patients taking aficamten experienced meaningful improvements in key disease areas, compared to only 13% on a placebo.
However, the drug did not significantly alter heart structure or delay cardiovascular events. Approximately 10% of patients experienced a reduction in their heart's pumping capacity, and 12 instances of heart failure occurred during the study. Cytokinetics indicated that real-world physician management of dosing would differ from the rigid trial algorithm.
