Published in News
A GACD-funded study has helped pave the way for a three-in-one pill that could transform high blood pressure treatment for millions of people globally.
Research that began as a GACD-funded project has reached a major global milestone. The TRIUMPH study, which started as GACD project HT08, tested the early use of a simplified treatment combining three blood pressure-lowering medicines in a single pill against usual care for people with hypertension in Sri Lanka.
The study found that more patients with mild to moderate hypertension achieved reductions in blood pressure with the triple combination pill compared with usual care. This early work contributed to more than a decade of research led by The George Institute for Global Health to develop a simple and effective treatment for high blood pressure.
In June 2025, the triple combination pill was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Since then, national-level licensing agreements have been signed for its distribution in 21 countries and territories worldwide, marking an important step towards making the treatment more widely available.
The progress is significant given that an estimated 1.4 billion adults worldwide live with hypertension, with most living in low- and middle-income countries and fewer than one in five having the condition adequately controlled.
Work is now ongoing to expand access to the treatment globally, including efforts to secure regulatory agreements in Kenya, Nigeria and Sri Lanka. This shows how implementation research can move from an initial trial to a treatment with the potential to improve hypertension care for millions of people globally.
Read the full story of the triple combination pill and its journey towards global impact in The George Institute's 2025 Impact Report.