Better than statins
The drug against "bad" cholesterol has been successfully tested
Georgy Golovanov, Hi-tech+
As early as next year, a new drug may appear in pharmacies that fights low–density lipoproteins - the main carriers of cholesterol in the blood. Unlike statins, it has no side effects.
The level of LDL cholesterol, also known as "bad cholesterol", is closely related to the likelihood of heart disease, strokes and myocardial infarction. Patients at risk are often prescribed statins – a wide class of drugs that fight lipoproteins, but they are not without side effects, according to the Imperial College London New cholesterol-lowering drug could help patients unable to take statins. For the most part, the beneficial effects outweigh the potential harm, but statins are contraindicated in some patients.
For many years, scientists have been studying the effect of bempedoic acid on cholesterol. Like statins, it blocks the production of one of the key enzymes necessary for the appearance of cholesterol, but, unlike them, it affects another enzyme.
Specialists of Imperial College London were convinced of the safety and effectiveness of bempedoic acid, which 2000 patients took in combination with a statin.
The result was extremely promising, and there were no side effects. This combination therapy lowered LDL cholesterol levels to a greater extent than treatment with statin alone.
"One of the main advantages of bempedoic acid is that it does not cause side effects in the muscles, which some patients complain about. It is absorbed by the liver and turns into an active form only under the action of an enzyme that exists only in the liver," says Kausik Ray, head of the research group. "As soon as the drug becomes active, it cannot leave the liver, it cannot penetrate into the muscles."
It is not yet clear how long the process of approval of the drug by regulatory authorities will take. The pharmaceutical company Esperion hopes to get permission in Europe and the USA this year, but most likely, it will appear on the shelves of pharmacies no earlier than 2020.
Article by Ray et al. Safety and Efficacy of Bempedoic Acid to Reduce LDL Cholesterol is published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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