Nebivolol, a third-generation beta-blocker, proved its efficacy in controlling blood pressure in Korean hypertension patients.

Menarini Korea announced Tuesday the results of the BENEFIT study, which is the most extensive study on Korean hypertension patients that encompassed 3,250 people.

The BENEFIT study showed taking nebivolol daily improves blood pressure control. The drug was also well tolerated.

Korea has one of the highest incidences of hypertension among the elderly population. About 70 percent of the patients who participated in this BENEFIT study were aged 65 or older.

The prevalence of hypertension in Korea has remained constant over the past decade, although the incidence of hypertension increased from 7.6 million in 1998 to over 11 million in 2016.

In 2018, hypertension guidelines from the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) described five antihypertensive drugs to be equally effective. The five are angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB), beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics.

The two societies recommend drugs based on the clinical conditions of the patient.

In particular, the ESC and ESH guidelines recommend the use of beta-blockers as a combination treatment for hypertension.

The Korean Society of Hypertension's 2018 guidelines also recommends choosing the treatment based on the patient's comorbidity and clinical characteristics, not on the patient's blood pressure level.

"The study demonstrates the efficacy of nebivolol in controlling blood pressure regardless of age, gender, or basal body mass index," Professor Shin Jin-ho from Hanyang University, Department of Cardiology and Internal Medicine, who was the lead author of the study, said. "Nebivolol's efficacy was seen in both new patients and in patients who took nebivolol as a combination therapy."

Shin added that the use of nebivolol as a monotherapy for new cases, or as a combination therapy with existing antihypertensive drugs, including RAS blockers, CCBs, RAS blockers, and CCBs, proved to be effective.

"The benefits of blood pressure reduction from the combination of nebivolol and RAS blockers, CCB and diuretics have been demonstrated in several studies," Shin said.

The BENEFIT study evaluated the efficacy and stability of nebivolol for 24 weeks in hypertension patients with comorbid diseases and various treatment environments in Korea.

The uncontrolled, non-interventional, prospective, single-group, multi-center observational study involved 66 patients in 66 locations in Korea from 2015 to 2017.

The study was published in the Journal of Hypertension in November.