12:30 PM – 1:30 PM – SESSION 3
Avanzar en la salud cardiovascular mediante terapias combinadas de una sola píldora - Lanzamiento de la hoja de ruta WHF SPC
Puntos destacados de la sesión
In this WHF Heart Café conversation, moderator Tom Gaziano (Brigham & Women’s/Harvard) speaks with Enrico G. Ferro, Adrianna Murphy, and Habib Gamra—with contributions from WHF Emerging Leaders—about scaling Single-Pill Combinations (SPCs) for cardiovascular prevention and secondary prevention. The panel distills evidence on adherence and outcomes, the WHF SPC Roadmap, cost-effectiveness, and pragmatic routes to availability, affordability, and adoption across high-, middle-, and low-income health systems.
Principales conclusiones
Evidence is solid
SPCs improve adherence (≈10% absolute in primary prevention) and deliver meaningful reductions in SBP, LDL-C, and major adverse cardiovascular events in both primary and secondary prevention.
From trials to essential use
SPCs/polypills are recognized on essential medicines lists; the WHF Roadmap focuses on turning guideline-level science into implementable policy and services.
Cost-effectiveness is favorable
Modeling shows low incremental cost per QALY versus separate pills; total system costs can drop with simpler procurement, fewer SKUs, and multi-month dispensing.
Three barriers, three levers
Availability (regulatory and supply-chain hurdles), Affordability (pricing vs. generics; pooled purchasing; voluntary licensing), and Adoption (prescriber inertia; patient awareness) require coordinated action.
Front-line pathways matter
Embed SPCs into primary care and nurse-led CVD pathways; align with HEARTS-style protocols, task-sharing, and decision support to reach rural and under-served settings.
Create “pull” for industry
Clear demand signals from ministries of health, payers, and national societies (standardized formularies, volume commitments) lower prices and expand market entry.
WHF Emerging Leaders in action
Case projects target availability (supply-chain mapping in Uganda/Nigeria), adoption (co-created e-learning for prescribers in Kenya), and affordability (criteria to add SPCs to national EMLs).
¿Quién debe verlo?
Cardiologists, internists, GPs, nurses, pharmacists, payers, policymakers, supply-chain leads, and advocates working on hypertension/ASCVD prevention, secondary prevention post-MI, essential medicines policy, and health-system integration in high-, middle-, and low-income contexts.
SPC (Single-Pill Combinations) Session – FAQ
- ¿Qué es una combinación de una sola píldora (CUP) y por qué utilizarla?
- An SPC combines proven CV drugs (e.g., antihypertensives, statin, antiplatelet) in one pill to improve adherence, control BP/LDL-C, and reduce events compared with taking multiple separate pills.
- ¿Son rentables los CCP frente a los genéricos por separado?
- Yes in most settings. Despite unit-price variation, overall value improves via better outcomes, streamlined procurement, reduced dispensing burden, and fewer stockouts—especially with pooled purchasing and standardized formularies.
- ¿Cómo pueden los países ampliar rápidamente el acceso?
- Add priority SPCs to national EMLs and benefit packages; use pooled procurement and volume guarantees; align regulatory requirements regionally; and adopt HEARTS-like primary-care protocols with multi-month dispensing.
- ¿Cómo vencer la inercia del prescriptor y crear demanda?
- Deploy concise, co-designed e-learning and decision aids for GPs/nurses; embed SPCs in clinical pathways and discharge letters; inform patients about one-pill convenience and outcomes; and secure endorsements from national societies.