Serelaxin for the treatment of heart failure

ABSTRACT

Outcomes for patients with acute heart failure remain suboptimal and treatments principally target improvement of symptoms. To date there has been no therapy approved for acute heart failure shown to improve mortality or readmission risk post-discharge. Serelaxin, a recombinant form of the naturally occurring polypeptide hormone relaxin, has demonstrated promise in preclinical and early clinical trials as a potentially novel therapy for acute heart failure. It is postulated through its anti-fibrotic and vasodilatory effects that this agent can improve outcomes in both the short and long term in these patients. Randomized clinical data has suggested that the medication is safe and well tolerated. However, definitive outcomes data is currently being assessed in a large multi-center trial.

KEYWORDS:

• Relaxin
• heart failure
• serelaxin
• RELAX-AHF
• review

Financial & competing interests disclosure

J Butler has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, and European Union, and served as a consultant to Amgen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Cardiocell, Novartis, Trevena, Relypsa, Z Pharma, and Zensun. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.