A Phase 3 interventional study of vicadrostat and empagliflozin in Heart Failure, sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. Recruiting at 594 sites in 29 countries. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-28.
Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim · Phase 3, Interventional, and Treatment
This study is open to adults with chronic heart failure (HF) who have a reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 40%. People can join the study if they have been diagnosed with chronic HF at least 3 months before they start on the study. The purpose of this study is to find out whether a medicine called vicadrostat, in combination with another medicine called empagliflozin, helps people with chronic heart failure.
In this study, participants are put into 2 groups randomly. Participants have an equal chance of being in either group. One group takes vicadrostat/empagliflozin tablets, and the other group takes placebo/empagliflozin tablets. Placebo tablets look like vicadrostat tablets but do not contain any medicine. Participants take the study medicines as tablets once a day for between about 6 months and about 3.5 years. During this time, they can continue their regular treatment for heart failure.
Participants can stay in the study as long as they benefit from treatment and can tolerate it, for a maximum of about 3.5 years. During this time, they visit the study site regularly. The exact number of visits is different for each participant, depending on how long they stay in the study. The study staff may also contact the participants by phone for some visits. Participants also regularly answer questions about their well-being. The doctors document when participants experience worsening of their heart failure symptoms, go to hospital due to heart failure or die during the study. The time until these events are observed is compared between the two treatment groups to see whether the treatment works. The doctors also regularly check participants' health and take note of any unwanted effects.
6,331 studies on the registry are indexed under Heart Failure; 1,396 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 4,200 is above the median of 76 across 4,049 interventional studies indexed under Heart Failure.
Browse Heart Failure studies →Boehringer Ingelheim is the lead sponsor of 2,304 studies on the registry; 62 are open to participants now.
Of its 167 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 123 (74%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Additional inclusion criteria apply.
Exclusion criteria:
Receiving the following treatments:
In case of acute decompensated HF:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.
Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.
The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Childbearing potential
Able to become pregnant: from the first period until menopause, unless permanently unable to through surgery (removal of the womb, or of both ovaries or both fallopian tubes).
Criteria for people of childbearing potential usually ask for a negative pregnancy test and for contraception during the study and for a time after it.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
NYHA class (heart failure)
The New York Heart Association’s four classes of how much heart failure limits physical activity.
Studies set their own limit — many outside heart failure leave out class III–IV, while heart failure studies may ask for a particular class. Check the class this study names.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
LVEF (left ventricular ejection fraction)
The share of blood the heart’s main pumping chamber (the left ventricle) pushes out with each beat, measured by an echocardiogram (heart ultrasound) or a MUGA scan. About 50–70% is normal.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
TIA (transient ischaemic attack)
A “mini-stroke”: temporary stroke-like symptoms caused by reduced blood flow to part of the brain, spinal cord or eye, without signs of a new stroke on a scan.
Stroke symptoms need emergency care at once, even if they go away.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Drug: vicadrostat · Drug: empagliflozin
Drug: empagliflozin · Drug: Placebo
vicadrostat
empagliflozin
Placebo matching vicadrostat
Time to first event of Cardiovascular (CV) death, or Hospitalisation for heart failure (HHF), or Urgent heart failure (HF) visit
Time frame: up to 43 months
Key secondary endpoint: Time to first event of cardiovascular death or HHF
Time frame: up to 43 months
Key secondary endpoint: Occurrences of HHF (first and recurrent)
Time frame: up to 43 months
Key secondary endpoint: Absolute change from baseline in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-Total Symptom Score (KCCQ-TSS) at Week 32
The KCCQ is a participant reported outcome. The KCCQ is a 23-item self-administered questionnaire designed to evaluate physical limitations, symptoms (frequency, severity, and changes over time), social limitations, self-efficacy, and quality of life in people with heart failure. The symptom frequency and symptom burden domains are merged into a total symptom score (TSS). Scores are transformed to a range of 0-100, in which higher scores reflect better health status.
Time frame: at baseline, at week 32
Key secondary endpoint: Time to cardiovascular death
Time frame: up to 43 months
Key secondary endpoint: Time to all-cause mortality
Time frame: up to 43 months
Time to first HHF
Time frame: up to 43 months
Time to first occurrence of death from kidney failure, chronic dialysis* or renal transplant or onset of sustained reduction of ≥ 50% estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) or onset of sustained eGFR (CKD-EPI)cr < 10 mL/min/1.73 m²
\* Chronic dialysis is defined as dialysis continuing for at least 30 days. For this composite renal endpoint the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration creatinine ((CKD-EPI)cr) equation is used.
Time frame: from baseline, up to 43 months
Absolute change from baseline in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire- Clinical Summary Score (KCCQ-CSS) at Week 32
The KCCQ is a participant reported outcome. The KCCQ is a 23-item self-administered questionnaire designed to evaluate physical limitations, symptoms (frequency, severity, and changes over time), social limitations, self-efficacy, and quality of life in people with heart failure. The Clinical Summary Score (CSS) of the KCCQ provides a measure of symptoms and physical limitations associated with heart failure. Scores are transformed to a range of 0-100, in which higher scores reflect better health status.
Time frame: at baseline, at week 32
Absolute change from baseline in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire-Total Symptom Score (KCCQ-TSS) at Week 52
The KCCQ is a participant reported outcome. The KCCQ is a 23-item self-administered questionnaire designed to evaluate physical limitations, symptoms (frequency, severity, and changes over time), social limitations, self-efficacy, and quality of life in people with heart failure. The symptom frequency and symptom burden domains are merged into a total symptom score (TSS). Scores are transformed to a range of 0-100, in which higher scores reflect better health status.
Time frame: at baseline, at week 52
Absolute change from baseline in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire- Overall Summary Score (KCCQ-OSS) at Week 32
The KCCQ is a participant reported outcome. The KCCQ is a 23-item self-administered questionnaire designed to evaluate physical limitations, symptoms (frequency, severity, and changes over time), social limitations, self-efficacy, and quality of life in people with heart failure. In the KCCQ, an overall summary score (OSS) can be derived from the physical function, symptom (frequency and severity), social function and quality of life domains. Scores are transformed to a range of 0-100, in which higher scores reflect better health status.
Time frame: at baseline, at week 32
Absolute change from baseline in KCCQ-OSS at Week 52
The KCCQ is a participant reported outcome. The KCCQ is a 23-item self-administered questionnaire designed to evaluate physical limitations, symptoms (frequency, severity, and changes over time), social limitations, self-efficacy, and quality of life in people with heart failure. In the KCCQ, an overall summary score (OSS) can be derived from the physical function, symptom (frequency and severity), social function and quality of life domains. Scores are transformed to a range of 0-100, in which higher scores reflect better health status.
Time frame: at baseline, at week 52
Absolute change from baseline in systolic blood pressure (SBP) [mmHg] at Week 32 in participants with baseline SBP ≥ 130 mmHg
Time frame: at baseline, at week 32
Absolute change from baseline in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) [mmHg] at Week 32 in participants with baseline DBP ≥ 80 mmHg
Time frame: at baseline, at week 32
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Plan to share: Yes — Once the criteria in section "Time Frame" are fulfilled, researchers can use the following link https://www.clinicalstudies.boehringer-ingelheim.com/msw/datasharing to request access to the clinical study documents regarding this study, and upon a signed "Document Sharing Agreement". Furthermore, researchers can request access to the clinical study data, for this and other listed studies, after the submission of a research proposal and according to the terms outlined in the website.
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Clinical study report
Time frame: One year after the approval has been granted by major Regulatory Authorities and after the primary manuscript has been accepted for publication, or after termination of the development program.
Access criteria: For study documents - upon signing of a "Document Sharing Agreement". For study data - 1. after the submission and approval of the research proposal (checks will be performed by the sponsor and/or the independent review panel, including checking that the planned analysis does not compete with sponsor's publication plan); 2. and upon signing of a legal agreement.
Data sharing details ↗ · www.clinicalstudies.boehringer-ingelheim.com
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
Contact study teamGet an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
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Studies of the drug tested here: Vicadrostat