Cholesterol drug wows doctors
Source: Agencies |
November 19, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AN experimental drug developed in the United States boosted good cholesterol so high and dropped bad cholesterol so low in a study that doctors were left stunned.
They voiced renewed hopes for an entirely new way of preventing heart attacks and strokes.
"We are the most excited we have been in decades," said Dr Christopher Cannon of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led the study of the novel drug for Merck & Co. "This could really be the next big thing."
The drug, anacetrapib, will not be on the market anytime soon. It needs more testing to see if its dramatic effects on cholesterol will translate into fewer heart attacks, strokes and deaths. Merck announced a 30,000-patient study to answer that question, and it will take several years.
But the magnitude of the new medicine's effects so far excited doctors at an American Heart Association conference in Chicago, where results were presented on Wednesday. "The data is beyond what anybody expected," said Dr Robert Eckel, a University of Colorado cardiologist and past president of the association. "It's like a rocket to Jupiter versus one to the moon."
Merck's Dr Luciano Rossetti agreed. "We are trying not to be too giddy. The potential benefit is enormous," said Rossetti, senior vice president of global scientific strategy at the New Jersey company.
For years, doctors have focused on lowering LDL, or bad cholesterol, to cut heart risks. Statin medicines, sold as Lipitor and Zocor do this, and generic versions cost less than a dollar a day. But many statin users still suffer heart attacks, so doctors have been trying to get LDL to very low levels and to boost HDL, or good cholesterol.
Anacetrapib would be the first drug of its kind. It helps keep fat particles attached to HDL, which carries them in the bloodstream to the liver to be disposed of.
The study tested anacetrapib in 1,623 people already taking statins. An LDL of 100 to 129 is considered good for healthy people, but patients like these should aim for under 100 or even under 70, guidelines say. For HDL, 40 to 59 is OK, but higher is better.
After six months, LDL scores fell from 81 to 45 in those people on anacetrapib, and from 82 to 77 in those who were on dummy pills. HDL rose from 41 to 101 in the drug group, and from 40 to 46 in those on dummy pills.
Such large changes have never been seen before, doctors say, and these improvements persisted for at least another year that the study went on.
Analysts say such a medication could mean billions for its maker.
Another study that caused a buzz at the heart meeting was a new procedure to lower blood pressure in patients whose pills failed them.
The new method uses a device made by California-based Ardian Inc through a blood vessel to zap nerves near the kidneys, which fuel high blood pressure.
They voiced renewed hopes for an entirely new way of preventing heart attacks and strokes.
"We are the most excited we have been in decades," said Dr Christopher Cannon of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who led the study of the novel drug for Merck & Co. "This could really be the next big thing."
The drug, anacetrapib, will not be on the market anytime soon. It needs more testing to see if its dramatic effects on cholesterol will translate into fewer heart attacks, strokes and deaths. Merck announced a 30,000-patient study to answer that question, and it will take several years.
But the magnitude of the new medicine's effects so far excited doctors at an American Heart Association conference in Chicago, where results were presented on Wednesday. "The data is beyond what anybody expected," said Dr Robert Eckel, a University of Colorado cardiologist and past president of the association. "It's like a rocket to Jupiter versus one to the moon."
Merck's Dr Luciano Rossetti agreed. "We are trying not to be too giddy. The potential benefit is enormous," said Rossetti, senior vice president of global scientific strategy at the New Jersey company.
For years, doctors have focused on lowering LDL, or bad cholesterol, to cut heart risks. Statin medicines, sold as Lipitor and Zocor do this, and generic versions cost less than a dollar a day. But many statin users still suffer heart attacks, so doctors have been trying to get LDL to very low levels and to boost HDL, or good cholesterol.
Anacetrapib would be the first drug of its kind. It helps keep fat particles attached to HDL, which carries them in the bloodstream to the liver to be disposed of.
The study tested anacetrapib in 1,623 people already taking statins. An LDL of 100 to 129 is considered good for healthy people, but patients like these should aim for under 100 or even under 70, guidelines say. For HDL, 40 to 59 is OK, but higher is better.
After six months, LDL scores fell from 81 to 45 in those people on anacetrapib, and from 82 to 77 in those who were on dummy pills. HDL rose from 41 to 101 in the drug group, and from 40 to 46 in those on dummy pills.
Such large changes have never been seen before, doctors say, and these improvements persisted for at least another year that the study went on.
Analysts say such a medication could mean billions for its maker.
Another study that caused a buzz at the heart meeting was a new procedure to lower blood pressure in patients whose pills failed them.
The new method uses a device made by California-based Ardian Inc through a blood vessel to zap nerves near the kidneys, which fuel high blood pressure.
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