New cholesterol -lowering pill offers hope for patients who cannot take statins

A new cholesterol -lowering pill that lowers the risk of heart attacks and stroke can transform the treatment of patients that cannot take statins due to debilitating side effects.

Experimental Drugs ObiceTrapib lowered levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol with almost a third in just three months in a new test.

And scientists from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio discovered that it was even more effective in combination with a generally prescribed medicine Ezetimibe, which reduces half the amount of lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol with low density.

LDL is the most connected to heart conditions – one of the greatest causes of death of the UK.

Six out of 10 adults have higher than normal levels, while five million take statins to keep their cholesterol – but this does not work for everyone.

The ObiceTrapib study, published in the Lancet, revealed how researchers followed an average of 407 patients at 68 years. All were considered a high risk with LDL cholesterol levels above 4mmol/l despite taking medication or being intolerant for statins. NHS guidelines to keep LDL under this threshold.

During a follow-up of 84 days, researchers found those who took the two medicines in combination, patients experienced a 48.6 percent larger reduction in LDL cholesterol compared to the placebo. They also saw a 27.9 percent larger reduction than with Ezetimibe alone and 16.8 percent more than just with ObiceTrapib.

When used in itself, ObiceTrapib LDL cholesterol reduced by 31.9 percent compared to placebo.

Preventive cardiologist Dr. Ashish Sarraju, who led the Cleveland Clinic study, said: ‘We must give patients and their doctors all the options.

“In patients with a higher risk you want to bring LDL down as quickly as possible and keep it there for as long as possible.”

ObiceTrapib manufacturer NewAmsterdam Pharma stated that it is expected to request approval from supervisors during the year ‘.