An early clinical study shows that a new oral drug is safe and well tolerated in patients with chronic heart failure. The study, led by researchers at Karolinska Institutet, has been published in The Lancet.

Heart failure with reduced pumping capacity means that the heart struggles to pump blood effectively around the body. Despite current treatments, many patients’ conditions worsen over time, and existing drugs that strengthen the heart’s contractions can cause serious side effects, such as heart rhythm disturbances and effects on blood pressure.

In the study, researchers investigated a new drug, AC01, which targets the body’s ghrelin receptor. Ghrelin is a hormone that influences metabolism and growth hormone release, and its receptor is also found in heart muscle. AC01 is intended to strengthen the heart’s pumping ability through a different biological mechanism from traditional heart-stimulating drugs, thereby reducing the risk of side effects.