New pill cuts cholesterol and heart attacks

The cholesterol-lowering drug bempedoic acid reduced the combined rate of major adverse cardiovascular events by 13%, meeting its primary endpoint in a large study of patients with high cholesterol who were unable to tolerate statins, according to research being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together With the World Congress of Cardiology.

Elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood can lead to blocked arteries and raise the risk of a heart attack, stroke and other forms of heart disease. Statins are the standard first-line treatment for lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart disease. Bempedoic acid affects the same biological pathway that statins target but is not activated until it reaches the liver. This limits the drug’s effects on muscle, the brain and other tissues or organs and explains why it does not have the same side effects reported with statins. It is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an additional treatment to help lower cholesterol in patients with certain conditions who have high cholesterol despite receiving maximally tolerated statin therapy.