Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. Therapeutic agents, such as those that lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, have been a critical factor in mitigating CVD event risk and demonstrate the important role that drug discovery plays in reducing morbidity and mortality. However, rapidly rising development costs, diminishing returns, and an increasingly challenging regulatory environment have all contributed to a declining number of cardiovascular (CV) therapeutic agents entering the health care marketplace. For pharmaceutical companies, a traditional cardiovascular outcomes trial (CVOT) can be a major financial burden and impediment to CV agent development. They can take as long as a decade to conduct, delaying potential investment return while carrying risk of failure. For patients, lengthy CVOTs delay drug accessibility. Without cost-effective CVOTs, drug innovation may be compromised, with CV patients bearing the consequences. This paper reviews potential approaches for making CV drug development more cost-effective.
The phospholamban (PLN) pathogenic gene variant, p.Arg14del (PLN-R14del), can lead to dilated and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, resulting in heart failure. PLN-R14del cardiomyopathy has been conceptualized as a disease caused by sarco/endoplasmic reticulum calcium adenosine triphosphatase 2a (SERCA2a) superinhibition. However, recent studies raised controversy regarding the effect of PLN-R14del on SERCA activity and revealed a prominent role for abnormal PLN protein distribution and sarco/endoplasmic reticulum disorganization as underlying disease mechanism. Strategies targeting sarco/endoplasmic reticulum malformation may, therefore, prove more effective than SERCA activity modulation. This review reassesses the disease mechanisms of PLN-R14del cardiomyopathy and emphasizes the importance of dissecting the underlying molecular mechanisms to uncover targets for innovative treatments.