Drug could become first for specific race
By Marilynn Marchione
New Heart Drug May Be Marketed to Blacks
November 9, 2004
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 1:07 p.m. ET
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The largest study ever done solely on blacks with heart failure raises the controversial prospect of the first drug that might be marketed to a specific racial group.
The experimental drug, BiDil, dramatically improved survival and cut hospitalizations for heart failure, a
problem that affects 5 million Americans, blacks 2 1/2 times more often than whites.Its maker, NitroMed, plans to seek federal approval for the two-drug combination pill by year’s end.