New Class of Cholesterol Drugs Shows Promise For Heart Disease

Experimental drugs intended to lower cholesterol may also significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to two new studies.

New research published in The New England Journal of Medicine show that a new class of cholesterol drugs, called PCSK9 inhibitors, may not just lower levels of bad cholesterol, but may also reduce the likelihood of adverse heart events.

The two drugs, evolocumab (under development by Amgen) and alirocumab (under development by Sanofi and Regeneron) appeared to reduce the risk of cardiac events like heart attack by around half, according to new studies.

PCSK9 inhibitors keep levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood in check. In some cases they’ve shown to be even more effective than statins, one of the most prescribed drug categories. The experimental drugs are given by injection.

As the New York Times reports, it’s still too early to tell whether the drugs could be used to prevent adverse heart disease events, and the initial studies were only meant to assess the safety of the drugs as cholesterol moderators. Many in the medical community want to see more data.

The drugs have long been shown to be effective at lowering cholesterol, but there may be more widespread use if they also significantly lower heart attack and death risk. Reuters reports that both companies have already submitted their drugs for approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Both studies were presented at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting.