A blood pressure vaccine?

USA TODAY, February, 2008 by Steve Sternberg

Robert Worek, 56, a retired safety engineer from Channahon, Ill., says he's fed up with the fistful of pills he takes daily for high blood pressure and other heart ailments. "Nine pills every morning," laments Worek. "Nine pills at night."

Eighteen pills a day are more than anyone would want to swallow, but Worek knows they help keep him alive. What bothers him more than having to take so many pills is how often they slip his mind. "All those pills," he says. "I lay them out, and I still forget them."

Such forgetfulness can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Yet studies show that only about half of people with high blood pressure follow doctors' orders. The Swiss biotech firm Cytos wants to make it easier for patients by reducing their dependence on...