Hypertension

Anti angiotensin II vaccine

Hypertension is a global health issue and can cause cardiovascular disease, stroke, peripheral artery disease (PAD), and – as a final consequence – premature death. Fortunately, several antihypertensive drugs are already available for antihypertensive therapy. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of these pharmaceuticals is commonly undermined by patients’ poor medication adherence and thus lack of blood-pressure control.

Immune therapy for the treatment of hypertension receiving ever greater attention

The possibility of using immune technologies to develop more targeted drugs for the treatment of hypertension has been receiving ever greater attention [1].

It is well known that angiotension II and angiotension II receptors play a key role in the development of hypertension. Thus, angiotension II became a target for immunotherapeutic approaches to treat hypertension, which is often referred to as “angiotensin II vaccine”, “anti angiotensin II vaccine”, or “hypertension vaccine”.

In fact, an immune therapy, respectively an active immunization, which would induce antibodies against angiotensin II or angiotensin II receptors, could improve medication adherence owing to lower administration frequency based on prolonged therapeutic effects.

CRS is a pioneer in the clinical development of a hypertension vaccine

CRS is very proud to be a pioneer in performing a clinical trial with a new innovative drug or rather a vaccine, precisely an “anti angiotensin II vaccine,” developed for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension.

All in all, an immune therapy, as outlined above, would constitute a major step forward in the treatment of patients with essential hypertension.

Essential hypertension, also named primary or idiopathic hypertension, is defined as high blood pressure, occurring without any apparent medical cause such as renovascular disease or renal failure, aldosteronism, or other disease conditions. Overall, “essential hypertension accounts for about 95 percent of all cases of hypertension” [2].

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) regulates the water and electrolyte balance of the human body and thereby it has significant influence on the control of the blood pressure. “Angiotensin II (Ang), the primary component of RAS, induces hypertension via an Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R). The chemical drugs that target Ang II, such as angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) and angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB), have therefore been widely used as antihypertensive drugs. However, the control of blood pressure is often insufficient due to non-compliance.” [3]

Sources

[1] Azegam T, Itoh H: Vaccine Development against the Renin-Angiotensin System for the Treatment of Hypertension. Int J Hypertens. 2019; 2019:9218531. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/9218531.

[2] Carretero OA, Oparil S: Essential Hypertension – Part I: Definition and Etiology. Circulation. 2000;101:329–335. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.CIR.101.3.329.

[3] Watanabe R, Suzuki J, Wakayama K et al.: A peptide vaccine targeting angiotensin II attenuates the cardiac dysfunction induced by myocardial infarction. Sci Rep 7, 43920 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43920.

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