A new experimental class of drugs aimed at lowering cholesterol has proven to be most effective protection against cardiovascular disease since the introduction of statins.
The studies were presented at the American College of Cardiology conference in Washington on Saturday, according to NBC News.
The drugs are called PCSK9 inhibitors. LDL cholesterol plays a major part in strokes and heart attacks, and the drugs were shown to decrease LDL cholesterol levels by half to two-thirds in several different groups of patients, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The reports featured studies conducted by Amgen Inc., Sanofi SA and its partner, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Pfizer Inc. All of these companies are developing their own versions of PCSK9 inhibitors for patients who are having trouble with statins, the most commonly used drug aimed at cholesterol.
While the results of the studies have the same findings as earlier studies of the drugs, they state that PCSK9 inhibitors have a great impact on LDL cholesterol, The Wall Street Journal reported. The patients who took the drugs have not experienced any issues with safety for a year.
"There's not a shred of doubt that this is a very efficacious way to lower LDL" cholesterol, said Steven Nissen, chairman of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. Nissen wasn't involved in any of the studies.
Evidence is required by doctors that the drugs will not only lower cholesterol but also reduce the number of heart attacks and deaths, NBC News reported. Statins have already proven to have these capabilities. Amgen said it will gain approval for its drug this year based only on its ability to lower cholesterol.
"I would be happy to see it approved," on the cholesterol results alone, said Dr. Hadley Wilson, a cardiologist at Carolinas HealthCare System. "We need additional agents other than statins" to help patients, he said.
Amgen's PCSK9 inhibitor is called evolocumab, The Wall Street Journal reported. The drugs also include Sanofi's alirocumab and Regeneron and Pfizer's bococizumab.
