Swiss drugmaker Novartis funds Michigan study of drug treatments for diabetics’ blood pressure

Study tests blood pressure drugs for diabetics

ROYAL OAK, Mich. — A Swiss pharmaceutical company is financing a Michigan study of the effectiveness of drug combinations in treating high blood pressure among diabetics.

Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis AG is giving $440,000 for the research at Beaumont Hospitals in Royal Oak. Medicines in the six-month study are already in use to treat high blood pressure.

Study chief Dr. Pamela Marcovitz is working with medical faculty from the University of Michigan and Wayne State University.

Researchers are seeking 50 patients with Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure who don’t have advanced heart disease.

Beaumont says PET scans will check participants for signs of early heart disease at the beginning and end of the study.