May 30 (Reuters) - Mineralys Therapeutics' ( MLYS )

experimental drug significantly reduced blood pressure in

patients with chronic kidney disease, according to new data

presented at a major European medical conference on Saturday.

Chronic kidney disease affects more than 37 million

Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, and is closely tied to high blood pressure.

The findings are based on an analysis of a late-stage trial

testing the once-daily pill, lorundrostat, in 800 patients with

uncontrolled or resistant high blood pressure.

Among the 192 patients with CKD, the pill showed a

placebo-adjusted reduction in systolic blood pressure of 9.6

mmHg (millimeters of mercury) at 12 weeks, while reductions were

slightly higher in those without kidney disease, at 12.2 mmHg.

About 71% of CKD patients were taking three or more blood

pressure drugs at baseline.

The reductions were "statistically significant and

clinically meaningful," the company said.

Lorundrostat also cut levels of a protein in urine called

albumin, a key sign of kidney damage, by more than half in a

subgroup of CKD patients who had elevated levels.

Mineralys reported last year that the drug significantly

reduced blood pressure in patients with difficult-to-treat

hypertension in two trials.

Hypertension affects about 1.4 billion people worldwide and

is a major cause of premature death, according to the World

Health Organization. It is common in people with CKD and is

linked to a higher risk of heart disease and worsening kidney

function.

The data comes as the field grows more competitive.

AstraZeneca's ( AZN ) hypertension pill Baxfendy was recently

approved in the U.S. - the first drug in a class that works by

blocking aldosterone, a hormone linked to high blood pressure,

to win that clearance.

Lorundrostat also works by blocking aldosterone production,

and is under review by the U.S. FDA, with a decision expected by

December.