Study of Verinurad in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

Evidence shows independent associations between hyperuricaemia and the risk of cardio-renal conditions, including heart failure (HF). Serum uric acid (sUA) is also a strong prognostic factor and correlates with other markers of poor prognosis in HF patients with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and an estimated 1/2-2/3 of HFpEF patients have hyperuricaemia. HFpEF is a microvascular disease likely partly driven by endothelial dysfunction and inflammation in coronary vessel walls. Uric acid crystals have been identified in coronary vessel walls in some hyperuricaemic patients. Uric acid transporter 1 (URAT1) is responsible for reabsorption of uric acid (UA) in the proximal tubule. Inhibition of URAT1 results in increased urinary excretion of UA and lowering of uric acid in the blood. Verinurad is a novel URAT1 inhibitor in Phase 2 development for chronic kidney disease (CKD) and HF. Verinurad combined with the xanthine oxidase (XO) inhibitors (XOI) febuxostat or allopurinol has been shown to lower sUA in patients with recurrent gout in Phase 2 studies by up to approximately 80%. The primary objective of this Phase 2 study is to assess the effect of a combination of verinurad and allopurinol on exercise capacity in patients with HFpEF. The secondary objectives are to assess effect of combination of verinurad and allopurinol in comparison to allopurinol monotheraphy on excercise capacity dwhich will be measured in peak VO2 as well as effect of verinurad and allopurinol compared to placebo and to allopurinol monotheraphy on Kansas City cardiomyopathy questionnaire (KCCQ)-total symptom score (TSS). A sub-study aims to investigate the relationship between UA crystals and inflammation.