Bayer: Science For A Better Life - research

New active substances relax the vascular muscles

For an easy heart

Traces of light: Dr. Johannes-Peter Stasch studies the distribution of the soluble guanylate cyclase enzyme in a cell.

Alfred Nobel was prescribed nitroglycerin to relieve his angina pectoris, but it gave him headaches. Over one hundred years later, scientists at Bayer HealthCare have found two substances which can treat the condition without the unpleasant side effects. They may not be explosive – but they’re certainly innovative!

New drugs to treat cardiovascular disease

Researchers at Bayer have been working on the enzyme soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) since 1994. Their aim was to find medicinal products which could replace the substance that activates sGC in the body – the gas nitric oxide (NO) – but the prospects were not good. A decade later, however, the company has two active substances from different chemical classes in development, and both could turn out to be cardiovascular medicines with few side effects. They are showing good results – albeit only in the test tube so far. Read on for details of these new discoveries and an interview on this topic with an expert in cardiovascular medicine, Professor Harald Schmidt in Melbourne.