Telmisartan.

Telmisartan is a nonpeptide angiotensin II receptor antagonist which selectively and insurmountably inhibits the angiotensin II AT1 receptor subtype without affecting other receptor systems involved in cardiovascular regulation. Oral telmisartan dose-dependently reduced blood pressure (BP) in various animal models of hypertension. In transgenic rats, telmisartan reduced cardiac hypertrophy and glomerulosclerosis. When administered at dosages of 40 to 160 mg once daily to patients with mild to moderate hypertension, telmisartan significantly reduced systolic and diastolic BP compared with placebo and was at least as effective as atenolol 50 or 100 mg and lisinopril 10 to 40 mg. One study showed telmisartan 80 mg/day to be more effective than enalapril 20 mg/day. In 2 studies that used ambulatory BP monitoring, once daily telmisartan provided better control of diastolic BP for the full dosing interval than losartan potassium 50 mg or amlodipine 5 or 10 mg. In a single study in patients with severe hypertension, a telmisartan-based regimen had antihypertensive efficacy similar to that of an enalapril-based regimen. Telmisartan had a tolerability profile similar to that of placebo in clinical studies.