An experimental drug might help people with uncontrolled high blood pressure, according to early clinical trial results.

People taking lorundrostat experienced twice the decline in their systolic blood pressure than people taking a placebo, researchers reported recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Systolic, the top number of a blood pressure reading, refers to the pressure within blood vessels during a heartbeat.

“While blood pressure readings remained elevated at the end of this Phase II trial in some participants treated with lorundrostat, we find these results promising because almost all participants involved in the study were not able to sufficiently lower their blood pressure with medication before,” principal investigator Dr. Michael Wilkinson, an associate professor with the University of California-San Diego School of Medicine, said in a news release.

Lorundrostat works by inhibiting the synthesis of the hormone aldosterone, which has been recognized as a driver of persistent high blood pressure, researchers said in background notes.

“We were specifically studying a new approach to addressing imbalanced aldosterone, which is an often underrecognized cause for treatment-resistant hypertension,” said Wilkinson.

For the clinical trial, researchers recruited 285 patients who had high blood pressure despite taking two to five blood pressure medications. High blood pressure or hypertension is defined as a systolic pressure of 130 or higher, or a diastolic pressure (the lower number) of 80 or higher and is a leading cause of heart disease and stroke, according to the American Heart Association.

Two-thirds of the patients took lorundrostat for 12 weeks, while the remaining third took a placebo.

Results showed that people taking lorundrostat experienced a 15-point drop in their systolic blood pressure, compared to a 7-point reduction among those on placebo.

“Ultimately, we found that the therapy, compared to placebo, was helpful in lowering a person’s systolic blood pressure,” Wilkinson said.

These results could lead to a larger, Phase III trial for lorundrostat, which would form the basis of an application for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, researchers said.

“As we learn more about the safety and efficacy of this treatment, I’m hopeful we will identify a useful tool in addressing high blood pressure for patients in need,” Wilkinson said.

The drug’s maker, Mineralys Therapeutics, funded the clinical trial.