Cadilla's 'magic bullet' polycap clears first big test

01 April 2009

A single pill that contains five life-saving drugs to guard against heart disease and strokes has come closer to reality after passing its first big test.

A team of Indian and Canadian announced that the five-in-one 'polycap', an experimental combo formulated by Cadila Pharmaceuticals of Ahmedabad, was as effective as drugs taken separately, with no greater side effects.

Their study tested the polypill on 2,053 Indians aged 48-80 years at 50 centres across India, who did not have heart disease but had a single risk factor like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity or smoking. Reductions were seen in both blood pressure and cholesterol without any major side effects.

The study concluded that if the pill was given to this profile of patients, it would reduce risk of heart disease by 62 per cent and stroke by 48 per cent.

The study was led by Salim Yusuf of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and Prem Pais of St. John's Medical College in Bangalore. The findings were presented on Monday at the cardiology college's conference in Florida and published online by the British medical journal Lancet.

The concept of a polypill for everyone over 55 to cut heart disease by up to 80 per cent was mooted over five years ago, but slow progress has been made since. The polypill used in the latest study combines five active pharmacological ingredients widely available separately - aspirin, a statin to lower cholesterol and three blood pressure-lowering drugs - as well as folic acid.