Ranolazine, sold under the brand name Ranexa among others, is a medication used to treat heart related chest pain. Typically it is used together with other medications when those are insufficient. Benefits appear smaller in women than men. It is taken by mouth.Common side effects include constipation, headache, nausea, and dizziness. Serious side effects may include QT prolongation. Use is not recommended in those with liver cirrhosis. How it works is not clear but may involve adenosine triphosphate.Ranolazine was approved for medical use in the United States in 2006. In 2019, it was the 211th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 2 million prescriptions. Medical uses
Ranolazine is used to treat chronic angina. It may be used concomitantly with β blockers, nitrates, calcium channel blockers, antiplatelet therapy, lipid-lowering therapy, ACE inhibitors, and angiotensin receptor blockers. It is also effective at preventing atrial fibrillation, and has been studied as monotherapy as well as in combination with other medications used to treat irregular heartbeat.Its use is not recommended in Scotland as of 2019. Contraindications
Some contraindications for ranolazine are related to its metabolism and are described under Drug Interactions. Additionally, in clinical trials ranolazine slightly increased QT interval in some patients and the FDA label contains a warning for doctors to beware of this effect in their patients. The drugs effect on the QT interval is increased in the setting of liver dysfunction; thus it is contraindicated in persons with mild to severe liver disease.
In April 2008 ranolazine was approved by the European EMEA for use in angina. Commercial aspects
Ranolazine is manufactured and sold as Ranexa by Gilead. According to a Gilead annual income statement, combined sales for Ranexa and another Gilead product, AmBisom, were $621 million for the fourth quarter of 2016. References
External links
"Ranolazine". Drug Information Portal. U.S. National Library of Medicine.