Scientists believe that the tablets - which contain a cholesterolbusting statin, three medicines to lower blood pressure, and folic acid - could prevent four-fifths of heart attacks and strokes.

Polypill could save over 1000 lives each year

Scientists have produced a 'polypill' which they say could save 100,000 lives a year among the over-55s. They believe that the tablets - which contain a cholesterol busting statin, three medicines to lower blood pressure, and folic acid - could prevent four-fifths of heart attacks and strokes.

However don't rush to your GP just yet. The pill still needs to go through clinical trials which will take up to 5 years.

The developers of the pill, the London-based Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, hope that the pill will be available for as little as £1 per day. The pill has been in development for over five years, but it is only now that the first samples are available.

Professor Nicholas Wald, the institute's director, said: 'We want to get it out there so people can use it. Our mission is to make it available to everyone over 55 at an affordable price. The founders of our group would like this pill to be available to everyone for about £1 a day.'

Although mass prescription of the pill could cost the NHS as much as £6b per year, the health benefits are estimated to save at least £8b or more each year.

The Government's heart disease czar, Professor Roger Boyle, came out in support of the polypill when it was still in development last year, saying that it should be given to all men over the age of 50.

Dr Chris says "this sounds like a great idea, but of course with a so-called polypill it is harder to separate out the effects if individual ingredients so it will require a lot of testing."


This content was created on Wed 7 May 2008

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