Ranolazine, sold under the brand nameRanexa among others, is a medication used to treatheart related chest pain.[5] Typically it is used together with other medications when those are insufficient.[5][6] Therapeutic benefits appear smaller in females than males.[5] It is taken by mouth.[5]
Ranolazine was approved for medical use in the United States in 2006.[5] In 2022, it was the 232nd most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 1million prescriptions.[7][8]
Some contraindications for ranolazine are related to its metabolism and are described under Drug Interactions. Additionally, in clinical trials ranolazine slightly increasedQT interval in some patients[13] and the FDA label contains a warning for doctors to beware of this effect in their patients.[10] The drug's effect on the QT interval is increased in the setting of liver dysfunction; thus it is contraindicated in persons with mild to severe liver disease.[14]
Ranolazine is metabolized mainly by theCYP3A enzyme. It also inhibits another metabolizing enzyme,cytochrome CYP2D6.[10] For this reason, the doses of ranolazine and drugs that interact with those enzymes need to be adjusted when they are used by the same patient.
Ranolazine inhibits persistent or late inward sodium current (INa) in heart muscle[15] in a variety ofvoltage-gated sodium channels.[16] Inhibiting that current leads to reductions in intracellular calcium levels. This in turn leads to reduced tension in the heart wall, leading to reduced oxygen requirements for the muscle.[13] TheQT prolongation effect of ranolazine on the surface electrocardiogram is the result of inhibition ofIKr, which prolongs the ventricularaction potential.[10] Ranolazine also exhibits its effects on the delayed rectifier current (hERG/IKr potassium channels), it readily stimulates myogenesis, it reduces a pro-oxidant inflammation/oxidative condition, and activates the calcium signaling pathway.[17]
Ranolazine prolongs the action potential duration, with corresponding QT interval prolongation on electrocardiography, blocks theINa current, and prevents calcium overload caused by the hyperactiveINa current, thus it stabilizes the membrane and reducing excitability.[18]
Syntex Inc. originally began developing ranolazine in 1985 and 61 studies were completed from then until 1994. Afterwards, Phase 2 studies were done; however, it was found that the formulation did not result in adequate plasma concentrations of drug. It is due to this that the sustained-release (SR) formulation of ranolazine was created.[19]
Roche acquired Syntex in 1994[19] In 1996, CV Therapeutics licensed the North American and European rights to ranolazine fromSyntex, a subsidiary ofRoche, which had discovered the drug and had developed it through Phase II trials in angina.[20] In 2006, CV Therapeutics acquired the remaining worldwide rights to ranolazine from Roche.[21] In 2008 CV Therapeutics exclusively licensed rights for ranolazine in Europe and some other countries toMenarini.[22]In 2009, Gilead acquired CV Therapeutics.[23] In 2013 Gilead expanded the partnership with Menarini to include additional countries, including those in Asia.[24]
Ranolazine was approved by the FDA in January 2006, for the treatment of patients with chronic angina as a second-line treatment in addition to other drugs.[13] In 2007 the label was updated to make ranolazine a first-line treatment, alone or with other drugs.[13] In April 2008 ranolazine was approved by the European EMEA for use in angina.[25]
Ranolazine is manufactured and sold as Ranexa by Gilead. According to a Gilead annual income statement, combined sales for Ranexa and another Gilead product, AmBisom, were $621 million for the fourth quarter of 2016.[26]
Ranolazine might constitute a therapeutic option to improve the two main strategies currently used to treat metastatic melanoma.[27] Research suggests that the transfer of a neurotransmitter from one type of skin cell, melanocytes to another, keratinocytes altered electrical activity and promoted melanoma initiation in preclinical models[28]
^abBanon D, Filion KB, Budlovsky T, Franck C, Eisenberg MJ (March 2014). "The usefulness of ranolazine for the treatment of refractory chronic stable angina pectoris as determined from a systematic review of randomized controlled trials".The American Journal of Cardiology.113 (6):1075–1082.doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2013.11.070.PMID24462341.
^Rosa GM, Dorighi U, Ferrero S, Brunacci M, Bertero G, Brunelli C (June 2015). "Ranolazine for the treatment of atrial fibrillation".Expert Opinion on Investigational Drugs.24 (6):825–836.doi:10.1517/13543784.2015.1036984.PMID25872749.S2CID31659714.
^De Vecchis R, Ariano C, Giasi A, Cioppa C (June 2018). "Antiarrhythmic effects of ranolazine used both alone for prevention of atrial fibrillation and as an add-on to intravenous amiodarone for its pharmacological cardioversion: a meta-analysis".Minerva Cardioangiologica.66 (3):349–359.doi:10.23736/S0026-4725.17.04349-3.PMID28497941.
^abcdeKloner RA, Hines ME, Geunes-Boyer S (November 2013). "Efficacy and safety of ranolazine in patients with chronic stable angina".Postgraduate Medicine.125 (6):43–52.doi:10.3810/pgm.2013.11.2711.PMID24200760.S2CID2084618.
^Thomsen MB, Matz J, Volders PG, Vos MA (October 2006). "Assessing the proarrhythmic potential of drugs: current status of models and surrogate parameters of torsades de pointes arrhythmias".Pharmacology & Therapeutics.112 (1):150–70.doi:10.1016/j.pharmthera.2005.04.009.PMID16714061.
^Banerjee K, Ghosh RK, Kamatam S, Banerjee A, Gupta A (January 2017). "Role of Ranolazine in cardiovascular disease and diabetes: Exploring beyond angina".International Journal of Cardiology.227:556–564.doi:10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.10.102.PMID27838121.
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