Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), one of the leading causes of heart-related deaths worldwide, occurs when the heart is not able to effectively pump enough blood to meet the body’s needs. The VICTORIA trial examined the effects of vericiguat (a novel first in class drug used to reduce the risk of death and heart failure hospitalization in people with chronic heart failure) in a global population of 5,050 patients with HFrEF. Study results showed that participants who were given vericiguat had significantly less cardiovascular-related deaths or heart failure hospitalizations when compared to participants who were given a placebo.
Since the publication of the VICTORIA primary trial results in 2020, the VICTORIA study group has published over 20 secondary analyses. These publications constitute an important body of work on worsening heart failure, and provide mechanistic and prognostic insights into a relatively understudied, but increasingly important heart failure patient subset. This research, conducted in collaboration with thought leaders and investigators from over 40 countries, also demonstrated that this patient population is at very high risk of death and repeated heart failure hospitalizations. Moreover, some patients’ conditions were too advanced to respond to vericiguat treatment.
The findings from the VICTORIA trial have proven exceedingly impactful. They have led to achieving regulatory approval for vericiguat (called Verquvo commercially) in a number of regions, including the United States and the European Union. Importantly, this research has also helped determine in which instances vericiguat treatment is most beneficial, and has spawned a new clinical trial, VICTOR, which will examine the effects of vericiguat in patients with HFrEF who have not had a recent worsening heart failure event.
Learn more about the VICTORIA publications from 2023 below:
- Effect of Vericiguat on Left Ventricular Structure and Function in Patients with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction: the VICTORIA Echocardiographic Substudy. (Eur J Heart Fail. 2023)
- Assessment of Biomarkers of Myocardial injury, Inflammation, and Renal Function in Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: The VICTORIA Biomarker Substudy. (J Card Fail. 2023)
- Ejection Fraction, Biomarkers, and Outcomes and Impact of Vericiguat on Outcomes Across EF in VICTORIA. (JACC Heart Fail. 2023)
- Classification of Heart Failure Events by Severity: Insights From the VICTORIA Trial (J Card Fail. 2023).
- Background Medical Therapy and Clinical Outcomes From the VICTORIA Trial. (Circ Heart Fail. 2023)
- Evolution of NT-proBNP During Prerandomization Screening in VICTORIA: Implications for Clinical Outcomes and Efficacy of Vericiguat (Circ Heart Fail. 2023)
- Age, Sex, and Outcomes in Heart Failure With Reduced EF: Insights From the VICTORIA Trial (JACC Heart Fail. 2023)
- Relationship Between Baseline Electrocardiographic Measurements and Outcomes in Patients with High-risk Heart Failure: Insights from the VerICiguaT Global Study in Subjects with Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction (VICTORIA) trial (Eur J Heart Fail. 2023)
- Cost-Effectiveness of Vericiguat in Patients With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction: The VICTORIA Randomized Clinical Trial (Circulation. 2023)
