Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America Inc.  in April will begin selling a new pill to treat high blood pressure after the  Food and Drug Administration approved the Deerfield-based company’s Edarbi tablets, the agency said.

Edarbi, which will cost about $75 for a month’s supply, enters a crowded field of blood pressure medications, including several cheaper generics that employers and consumer groups say work well and can cost pennies a day.

But Takeda said Edarbi will be important for certain patients, providing data to the FDA that shows the drug be more effective in lowering “24-hour blood pressure” than two older hypertension drugs: Diovan, also known under the generic name valsartan, and Benicar,  also known as olmesartan.

In announcing the FDA approval, agency officials said having new treatments for hypertension were a good thing.

“High blood pressure remains inadequately controlled in many people diagnosed with the condition, so having a variety of treatment options is important,” said Dr. Norman Stockbridge, director of the FDA’s division of cardiovascular and renal drug products in the its Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Nearly one in three adults in the U.S. has high blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke.

Takeda would not disclose its annual sales projections for Edarbi.

bjapsen@tribune.com