A single-pill combination of amlodipine besylate and atorvastatin calcium

This review describes the clinical profile and rationale for the development of a single-pill formulation of the calcium channel blocker amlodipine besylate, a blood-pressure-lowering agent, and atorvastatin calcium, a statin with lipid-lowering antiatherosclerotic properties. Amlodipine and atorvastatin have been demonstrated in numerous clinical trials to be highly effective in lowering blood pressure and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Furthermore, both amlodipine and atorvastatin have been demonstrated to reduce cardiovascular events in a broad range of patients; in hypertensive patients with three concomitant cardiovascular risk factors but normal to mildly elevated cholesterol levels, amlodipine combined with atorvastatin demonstrated a reduction in cardiovascular events. The amlodipine/atorvastatin single pill has been shown to improve patients' achievement of national-guideline-recommended blood pressure and lipid target levels and exhibits a safety profile consistent with its parent compounds. The combination pill is now available in parts of Europe in formulations containing either 5 or 10 mg amlodipine and 10 mg atorvastatin. Amlodipine combined with atorvastatin has been demonstrated to reduce cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients at high cardiovascular risk, and the single-pill formulation has the potential to improve adherence and decrease prescription costs. These potential benefits are associated with important implications because hypertensive patients with additional risk factors represent a large proportion of those at risk for cardiovascular events. (c) 2006 Prous Science. All rights reserved.