First-of-its-kind cardiovascular drug gets FDA approval based on study from Canadian VIGOUR Centre The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug vericiguat for use in patients with heart failure. The drug--a first-of-its-kind, once-daily oral treatment for patients with worsening chronic heart failure--was approved in part thanks to the VICTORIA (Vericiguat Global Study In Subjects With Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction) clinical study run by researchers at the University of Alberta's Canadian VIGOUR Centre. As reported in March 2020, vericiguat works by stimulating an enzyme in the body called soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), which is important for enhancing heart function and helping blood vessels relax to provide better blood flow. In patients with heart failure, sGC is reduced and unable to adequately stimulate cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), necessary for transmitting chemical signals to blood vessels, which results in vascular and coronary dysfunction.