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Studies find new drugs greatly lower cholesterol; may aid people not helped enough by statins

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People attend the American College of Cardiology\'s conference in Washington, Saturday, March 29, 2014. A new class of experimental medicines can dramatically lower cholesterol, raising hopes of a fresh option for people who can\'t tolerate or don\'t get enough help from Lipitor and other statin drugs that have been used for this for decades. The first large studies of these drugs were presented Saturday at an American College of Cardiology conference in Washington, and more will follow on Sunday. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON – A new group of experimental medicines can dramatically lower cholesterol, raising hopes of a fresh option for people who can’t tolerate or don’t get enough help from Lipitor and other statin drugs that have been used for this for decades.

The first large studies of the new drugs were presented Saturday at an American College of Cardiology conference in Washington.

They are aimed at more than 70 million Americans and millions more worldwide who have high LDL or “bad” cholesterol, a major risk for heart disease.

One of these drugs, Amgen’s evolocumab (ev-oh-LOKE-you-mab), cut cholesterol by 55 to 66 per cent compared to a fake drug in some studies. The company plans to seek federal approval for it this year.

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