The Fuster-CNIC-Ferrer Cardiovascular Polypill: a polypill for secondary cardiovascular prevention.

During the last decade, there has been a tremendous effort to develop different cardiovascular polypills in response to the upsurge in global cardiovascular disease worldwide. The pharmacological development of such a strategy has proven to be extremely complex from a formulation standpoint. Not all drugs are suitable for use in a polypill because of potential drug incompatibilities between them. Candidate agents must be safe, well tolerated, effective, guideline recommended and physiochemically compatible with the other components of the pill. The Fuster-CNIC-Ferrer cardiovascular (CV) polypill has been found to be the first-in-class polypill to be approved and commercialized in Europe and Latinamerican Countries. In this article, we review the pharmacological properties of its three components, including the clinical evidence supporting their use in patients with established cardiovascular disease, their pharmacokinetic properties, adverse effects, drug interactions and contraindications.