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NEW YORK | The first drug in a new class of agents for the treatment of high blood pressure-the oral direct renin inhibitor aliskerin-appears to take advantage of a long half-life to give patients blood pressure control all day, all night and especially in the morning.

"Aliskerin has the potential to protect the heart and other organs by continuous, smooth blood pressure lowering," said Dr. Jerry Mitchell, chairman of the Texas Centre for Drug Development, a Houston-based research company involved in clinical trials with the drug, which is being developed by Novartis.

Dr. Mitchell said aliskerin's 40-hour half-life will provide for once-daily dosing....

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This story about the first drug in a new class of blood pressure medications (renin inhibitors) is an exemplary piece of poor reporting. The story discusses the presentation of data at a meeting, meaning that nothing will have been peer reviewed let alone published at this point in time, without mentioning either of these crucial deficiencies. Furthermore, it focuses exclusively on a surrogate endpoint, blood pressure control, and fails to mention that there is no evidence that the drug will reduce morbidity or mortality or be any better than existing medications. No harms from the product are presented and finally, there is nothing about the relationship between the investigators and the company developing this product. Articles such as these may be best used to lining the bottom of your bird's cage, if you have one.

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