Abbott's levosimendan boosts standard care for heart failure patients

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, Nov. 14 - Abbott Laboratories said clinical trial results show that patients with acute decompensated heart failure who received a single infusion of Abbott's levosimendan - known as Simdax outside the United States - together with standard therapy, significantly outperformed patients who received standard therapy and a placebo.

More patients improved and fewer patients worsened when treated with levosimendan, and levosimendan patients had a reduced average length of initial hospital stay, the company said.

The study included 600 patients in the United States, Australia and Israel.

A patient's clinical course over five days was determined by a composite of the patient's self-assessment of symptoms, together with a physician's assessment of the occurrence of clinical deterioration, the company said.

The data was presented Monday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Dallas.

Abbott is based in Abbott Park, Ill., and develops pharmaceuticals and medical device products.

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