Bayer Expands Kerendia Program In Competitive Heart Failure Space

Bayer AG aims to get closer to the blockbuster peak sales its executives forecast back in January for Kerendia (finerenone) with the announcement of a boost to its clinical development program to test the drug in heart failure (HF). Success in the HF program would add to the drug’s already successful launch in chronic kidney disease (CKD) associated with type 2 diabetes, a position likely to benefit from a new recommendation from the European Society of Cardiology.

On the other hand, HF is a competitive space, with three drugs approved for it included on the list of drugs facing Medicare price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The availability of those medicines at relatively low costs for Medicare patients starting in 2026 – a sizeable portion of the US HF market – could increase the commercial stakes for Kerendia