LYON, France — The first oral small molecule anti–proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 inhibitor appears to be effective in not only lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on its own, but it may also have a synergistic effect with statins, according to a preliminaryfound that when the drug was given to 35 participants with elevated LDL, their levels fell by at least 30% over baseline.
The drug is also safe and well tolerated, and has"excellent oral bioavailability," he said. With 80% of high- and very high–risk individuals not achieving the LDL cholesterol goals set out in thefor the management of dyslipidaemias and currently available injectables not widely used, Vega said there is a high unmet need for oral therapies.
Vega responded that study is still ongoing, so"data are still in progress." He added that LDL cholesterol levels were obtained both using direct measurements and ultracentrifugation, and the results were very similar between the two assessments. There was indeed a difference in baseline LDL cholesterol levels between the main trial and the combination substudy, at approximately 20 mg/dL, he said.