FDA gives combo blood pressure tablet green light

The FDA approved a pill that combines a calcium channel blocker and an ACE inhibitor as a treatment for hypertension.

The approved tablets combine perindopril arginine and amlodipine under the brand name Prestalia (Symplmed Pharmaceuticals). The fixed-dose tablets are designed to reduce diastolic and systolic blood pressure in patients whose hypertension is not adequately treated by a single therapy. The combination pill also can be prescribed for patients whose physicians conclude likely will need several drugs to meet their blood pressure targets.

Cincinnati-based Symplmed Pharmaceuticals licenses Prestalia from the French company Servier. Symplmed plans to make the tablets available in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2015.