Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (CVRM)
We aim to save the lives of people who suffer from cardiovascular disease, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and diabetes, by advancing CVRM solutions and addressing shared risk factors between these distinct but interrelated disease areas
Our aim is to protect the lives of 50 million people in the next year from the often-devastating consequences of heart failure, cardiovascular, metabolic and renal diseases.
Shared risk factors of CVRM diseases are still often not diagnosed or addressed, 1-4 and we are committed to help change clinical practice, to address unmet medical needs and create a seamless disease management pathway for patients worldwide.
Up to 20 million
people die from CVRM diseases each year, making them the leading causes of death across the globe5,6
Up to 94%
of people with type-2 diabetes in the US have at least one other cardiovascular, renal or metabolic condition7
More than 40%
of patients with heart failure also have chronic kidney disease8
Up to 40%
of patients hospitalised for heart failure have diabetes9
Our disease areas
In the spotlight
Know the Danger
Up to 94% of people with type-2 diabetes in the US have at least one additional CVRM condition.7 We work to provide solutions for these complications that might become life-threatening, to change the lives of type-2 diabetes patients by reducing risk factors through early prevention. We aim to raise awareness of common comorbidities and inspire healthcare professionals and patients alike to get involved in our holistic approach towards disease management.
The Attack
Up to one in five people who have been event-free for a year may experience another heart attack within three years of the first.10 Working together with healthcare professionals, we help raise awareness of the importance of secondary prevention among heart attack survivors.
Chronic kidney disease infographic
Chronic kidney disease occurs in the context of multiple comorbidities and has been termed as a “disease multiplier.”11 We work to find ways to help patients manage the many complications and provide solutions for better disease management.
Our medicines
We cannot provide detailed information about our prescription medicines on this website, in compliance with regulations. Our medicines are approved in individual countries for specific uses and the information we provide for patients is governed by local regulations. In some cases, healthcare professionals and patients can visit local AstraZeneca websites to find out more about our medicines. Please note that in some countries we are not allowed to provide very much, or sometimes any, information on our prescription medicines so you should seek alternative trustworthy sources. Always ask a healthcare professional for advice about medicines.
Atacand, Atacand HCT, Atacand Plus
candesartan cilexetil
Brilinta/Brilique
ticagrelor
Bydureon
exenatide
Byetta
exenatide injection
Crestor
rosuvastatin
Farxiga/Forxiga
dapagliflozin
Komboglyze
saxagliptin and metformin HCl
Kombiglyze XR
saxagliptin and metformin XR
Lokelma
Sodium zirconium cyclosilicate
Onglyza
saxagliptin
Plendil, Modip, Splendil, Munobal, Flodil
felodipine
Qtern
dapagliflozin and saxagliptin
Seloken ZOK, Toprol-XL, Betaloc ZOK
metoprolol succinate
Symlin
pramlintide acetate
Tenormin, Tenormine, Prenormine, Atenol
atenolol
XIGDUO
dapagliflozin and metformin HCI
XIGDUO XR
dapagliflozin and metformin HCI extended-release
Zestril
lisinopril dihydrate
Our pipeline for CVRM
We hear our patients’ stories and see the burden that cardiovascular, renal and metabolic diseases poses on populations across the world. We work daily to discover and advance clinical practice and therapies to ultimately improve lives and address unmet needs.
Today, we believe we are the only pharmaceutical company with a full portfolio of potential CVRM solutions.
With more than 25 therapies and therapy combinations in our early-to-late stage pipeline, we seek to bring real science and development to combatting life-threatening conditions. Our first-class scientific research today is setting the stage for our pioneering approach in the fields of disease regression and organ regeneration, putting us a step closer to making science fiction a reality.
We follow the science to develop innovative treatments and ultimately, modify or even halt the natural course of the disease and regenerate organs. We are agnostic to drug modality, we identify and validate novel targets based on genetics and human target validation and then apply the best modality to modulate the target. Together with key experts throughout the world we collaborate to accelerate our scientific progress, and to further define patient populations that may benefit from the novel cardio-renal-metabolic therapies we are developing.
New modalities
New technologies
New biology
Phase III/LCM Projects: refers to assets that are pivotal in Phase II/III, or that have been submitted for regulatory approval, and may include assets that are now launched in one or more major markets (removed when launched in all applicable major markets).
Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism (as of 29 April 2022)
Phase I
Phase I
Phase II
Phase II
Phase III
Phase III
LCM Projects
LCM Projects
Our people
Strengthened by collaboration
We cannot change the future alone. Therefore, we are actively investing in broader and stronger partnerships with respected academic institutions, research organisations, patient advocacy groups, and healthcare companies. Together with our dedicated partners, we are paving the way for clinical practice evolution, tapping into this collaboration as our brick foundation.
World Heart Federation
To tackle key issues in cardiovascular care and associated complications, AstraZeneca has entered a multi-year partnership with World Heart Federation (WHF), the world’s leading voice for cardiovascular health. This partnership will see us work hand-in-hand on global policy, advocacy and disease awareness initiatives, supporting global and local activations to assist those at particularly high risk. In our first co-initiative with WHF, we are supporting people with cardiovascular disease and its complications who are at a higher risk of severe complications of COVID-19 by providing them with the much-needed advice and resources on their risk and how to manage their condition and stay healthy during the pandemic.
Learn more about our partnership
Healthy Heart Africa
Healthy Heart Africa is committed to tackling hypertension and the increasing burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Africa. Since launching in Kenya in 2014, then Ethiopia in 2016, Tanzania in 2018 and Ghana in 2019, we have conducted over 11 million blood pressure screenings; identified over 2 million elevated readings; trained over 5,800 healthcare workers; and activated over 700 healthcare facilities.12 In support of the United Nations targets to reduce the risk of premature death from NCDs,13 we aspire to reach 10 million people with elevated blood pressure across Africa by 2025.
Know more about Healthy Heart Africa
One Brave Idea
Supported by the American Heart Association (AHA) and AstraZeneca, One Brave Idea (OBI) aims to understand the molecular events surrounding the earliest transition from wellness to disease in coronary heart disease (CHD). OBI is turning its focus upstream and seeking out earlier changes in the development of CHD, working outside the constraints of traditional biomedical science. Through an agile approach, multidisciplinary team and unique organisational structure, OBI is paving the way for innovative research.
Latest news
LabTalk blogs
References
1. Bjornstad et al. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2014 August ; 21(4): 279–286. doi:10.1097/MED.0000000000000074.
2. Narisa Futrakul, Ankanee Chanakul, Prasit Futrakul & Tawatchai Deekajorndech (2015) Early stage of vascular disease and diabetic kidney disease: an underrecognized entity, Renal Failure, 37:8, 1243-1246, DOI: 10.3109/0886022X.2015.1073054
3. Liviu Segall, Ionut Nistor, and Adrian Covic, “Heart Failure in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Systematic Integrative Review,” BioMed Research International, vol. 2014, Article ID 937398, 21 pages, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/937398.
4. Edelman Intelligence Relevance and barriers amongst EU specialists Survey 2018. Document ID: Z2-0050 | Date of preparation: August 2018 | Date of expiry: July 2020
5. Wang H et al. Global, regional, and national life expectancy, all-cause mortality, and cause-specific mortality for 249 causes of death, 1980–2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015. The Lancet 2016; 388(10053):1459–544.
6. World Health Organization. (2019). World Heart Day. [online] Available at: https://www.who.int/cardiovascular_diseases/world-heart-day/en/ [Accessed 31 Jul. 2019].
7. Arnold SV et al. Burden of cardio-renal-metabolic conditions in adults with type 2 diabetes within the Diabetes Collaborative Registry. Diabetes Obes Metab 2018; 20(8):2000–3.
8. Shiba N, Shimokawa H. Chronic kidney disease and heart failure--Bidirectional close link and common therapeutic goal. J Cardiol 2011; 57(1):8–17.
9. ESC Guidelines on diabetes, pre-diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases developed in collaboration with the EASD. European Heart Journal (2013) 34, 3035–3087 doi:10.1093/eurheartj/eht108
10. JernBerg T et al. Cardiovascular risk in post-myocardial infarction patients: nationwide real world data demonstrate the importance of a long-term perspective. Eur Heart J 2015; 36:1163-1170.
11. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Kidney Disease Statistics for the United States: December 2016. National Institutes of Health [cited 2018 Aug 28]. Available from: URL: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/kidney-disease.
12. AstraZeneca data on file. Programme screening and treatment & Total programme KPIs. June 2019.
13. R.L. Sacco et al. The Heart of 25 by 25: Achieving the Goal of Reducing Global and Regional Premature Deaths from Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke. Circulation 2016; 133:e674-e690. Available at: https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/full/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000395 Last accessed July 2019.