Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40884032›Full record

Trial reportEuropean heart journal2026

Vericiguat and mortality in heart failure and reduced ejection fraction: the VICTOR trial.

Javed Butler, Francesco Fioretti, Ciaran J McMullan, Kevin J Anstrom, Irina Barash, Marc P Bonaca, Maria Borentain, Stefano Corda, Pedro P Teixeira, Justin A Ezekowitz and 18 more

Erratum issued Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in European heart journal, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to trial NCT05093933 (A Pivotal Phase 3 Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of the sGC Stimulator Vericiguat/MK-1242 in Adults With Chronic Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05093933 phase3completednot on this map

A Pivotal Phase 3 Randomized, Placebo-controlled Clinical Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of the sGC Stimulator Vericiguat/MK-1242 in Adults With Chronic Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction

TypeinterventionalSponsorMerck Sharp & Dohme LLCRan2021 to 2025Enrolled6,106ConditionsChronic Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection FractionArmsVericiguat, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

28 authors.

Javed ButlerDepartment of Medicine, University of Mississippi, 2500 N State St, Jackson, MS 39216, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7683-4720
Francesco FiorettiBaylor Scott and White Research Institute, 3434 Live Oak St., Dallas, TX 75204, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7174-8604
Ciaran J McMullanMerck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-7269-6391
Kevin J AnstromDepartment of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Irina BarashMerck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
Marc P BonacaDepartment of Medicine, Colorado Prevention Center Clinical Research, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO, USA.
Maria BorentainBayer US LLC, Whippany, NJ, USA.
Stefano CordaBayer AG, Basel, Switzerland.
Pedro P TeixeiraBayer US LLC, Whippany, NJ, USA.
Justin A EzekowitzCanadian VIGOUR Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Davis GatesMerck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
Carolyn S P LamNational Heart Centre Singapore and Duke-National University, Singapore, Singapore.ORCID 0000-0003-1903-0018
Eldrin F LewisDepartment of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA.
JoAnn LindenfeldVanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
Robert J MentzDuke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC, USA.
Christopher M O'ConnorInova Heart and Vascular Institute, Falls Church, VA, USA.
Piotr PonikowskiDepartment of Heart Diseases, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
Yogesh N V ReddyDepartment of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Giuseppe M C RosanoDepartment of Human Sciences and Promotion of Quality of Life, San Raffaele Open University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Clara SaldarriagaCardio VID Clinic, Medellin, Colombia.
Michele SenniFaculty of Medicine, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-5502-7882
James UdelsonDivision of Cardiology and the CardioVascular Center, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA.
Alessia UrbinatiMerck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
Vanja VlajnicBayer US LLC, Whippany, NJ, USA.
Adriaan A VoorsDepartment of Cardiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.ORCID 0000-0002-5417-4415
Aiwen XingMerck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
Mahesh J PatelMerck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
Faiez ZannadCVCT and Inserm, Centre D'Investigations Cliniques-Plurithématique, Universite de Lorraine, CHRU, Nancy, France.ORCID 0000-0001-7456-1570

Funding

Merck & Co., Inc.Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsIn the VICTOR trial (NCT05093933), vericiguat was neutral for the primary composite endpoint of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure (HF). VICTOR was powered to independently assess cardiovascular death. This study reports detailed analysis on the effects of vericiguat on mortality.

methodsVICTOR, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial, enrolled 6105 ambulatory patients with HF and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) without recent worsening and randomized them to vericiguat or placebo. The main outcome for this analysis was the pre-specified secondary endpoint of cardiovascular death. All-cause death, sudden cardiac death, and death related to HF were also assessed.

resultsOver a median of 19.7 months (inter-quartile range 14.6-25.4), cardiovascular deaths occurred in 292 patients (5.7 deaths per 100 patient-years) and 346 patients (6.8 deaths per 100 patient-years) in the vericiguat and placebo groups, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.71-0.97; P = .020). Risk of death from any cause was lower with vericiguat vs placebo (377 [7.3 deaths per 100 patient-years] vs 440 [8.6 deaths per 100 patient-years]; HR 0.84, 95% CI 0.74-0.97; P = .015). Sudden cardiac death and HF-related deaths were lower with vericiguat vs placebo (1.6 vs 2.2 events per 100 patient-years; HR 0.75, 95% CI 0.56-0.99; P = .042 and 1.7 vs 2.4 events per 100 patient-years; HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.54-0.94; P = .016, respectively). Lower mortality rates were consistent across subgroups including baseline therapy. Consistent cardiovascular and all-cause mortality benefit was seen across baseline N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide levels.

conclusionsIn ambulatory well-treated participants with HFrEF, vericiguat was associated with clinically meaningful reductions in the key secondary outcome of cardiovascular death, as well as all-cause mortality.

Indexed as

Heart FailureHeterocyclic Compounds, 2-RingPyrimidinesAgedCause of DeathDeath, Sudden, CardiacDouble-Blind MethodFemaleHospitalizationHumansMaleMiddle AgedStroke VolumeTreatment OutcomeHeterocyclic Compounds, 2-RingPyrimidinesvericiguatAll-cause mortalityCardiovascular mortalityHeart failure related deathsHeart failure with reduced ejection fractionSudden cardiac deathVericiguat

Identifiers

PMID40884032
PMCPMC13089535

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.