The world's first international trial of a "polypill" has shown it can cut the risk of suffering heart disease and strokes in half.
The four-in-one drug contains aspirin and chemicals to lower blood pressure and cholesterol.
Separate pills are already prescribed to millions of people worldwide to lower the chances of heart attack and stroke.
But researchers have long been looking at the prospect of a combined pill, with some suggesting it should be taken by everyone over the age of 55 to cut the risk of disease.
In the latest study, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, experts tested the pill on 378 people who did not already need any of its components, but who had more than a 7.5% estimated risk of cardiovascular disease.
The drug contained 75mg of aspirin, the two blood pressure drugs lisinopril (10mg) and hydrochlorothiazide (12.5mg), and 20mg of the cholesterol-lowering drug simvastatin.
The participants came from the UK, Australia, Brazil, India, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and the US.
Professor Anthony Rodgers, from The George Institute for Global Health, said: "We know from other trials that long-term there would also be a 25-50% lower death rate from colon cancer, plus reductions in other major cancers, heart failure and renal failure."
"These benefits would take several years to 'kick in', but of course one of the hopes with a polypill is it helps people take medicines long-term."
The latest trial was on the Red Heart polypill and it was the first to combine worldwide data.
