Expert opinion on investigational drugs
-
Expert Opin Investig Drugs · Feb 2017
ReviewEvaluating bempedoic acid for the treatment of hyperlipidaemia.
Despite the effectiveness of statins in the treatment of lipid disorders, residual risk still exists, and hitherto studies where additional drugs were added to statin therapy have been mainly negative or the outcomes were very modest. Therefore there is still a need for new and effective oral agents in the combination therapy of lipid disorders. Areas covered: The review covers the current state of knowledge on the mechanism of action of bempedoic acid (ETC-1002) and results from recent clinical studies. ⋯ Because of this, new lipid-modulating drugs are urgently required. ETC-1002 has a unique mechanism of action (adenosine triphosphate-citrate lyase inhibition). It has been shown to be safe in combination with statins as well as ezetimibe, and appears to effectively lower LDL-C and has the potential to reduce the risk of muscle-related adverse events, which can limit the utilization and effectiveness of statin therapy.