Turning to the middle stage of clinical testing, Eli Lilly has an experimental drug known as lepodisiran, which has been known to show a remarkable drop in levels of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], which is a genetic risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. It is known that patients on the highest dose would show an average decrease of 93.9 percent in their Lp(a) levels from those in a placebo group.
Lp(a) is a unique type of lipoprotein that is produced when low-density lipoprotein binds to a specific protein, apolipoprotein(a). Increased levels of Lp(a) have been found to explain a greater frequency of heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases. Lifestyle changes and drugs such as statins can regulate the elevated levels of LDL cholesterol, but no licensed treatment that would treat extremely elevated levels of Lp(a) is available currently.
The trial had 210 participants, 141 of whom received a 400 mg dose of lepodisiran and 69 a placebo. Across six months, patients who received lepodisiran showed a 93.9% drop in Lp(a) levels. Crucially, no severe side effects linked to the drug were noted, which implies a good safety profile.
Dr. Steven Nissen, the cardiologist at Cleveland Clinic and lead author of the study, pointed to the advantages of lepodisiran in managing high Lp(a) levels with less frequent dosing. He underlined the necessity of larger trials to establish if decreasing Lp(a) results in fewer cardiovascular events,
Lilly is moving forward with lepodisiran to late-stage clinical trials. The firm is also testing lepodisiran in a Phase 3 trial to see if lowering Lp(a) levels with lepodisiran decreases cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. This trial enrollment will be done in the course of the year.
Other drugmakers are also investigating drugs that target Lp(a). Silence Therapeutics is developing zerlasiran, Amgen is developing olpasiran, and Novartis is testing pelacarsen. These experimental treatments have the potential to offer choices for people with high levels of Lp(a), a condition that afflicts nearly 1.4 billion people worldwide, including 64 million in the United States.
The emergence of lepodisiran-type therapy is a very promising advance in cardiovascular medicine. It creates new hopes for patients with high genetically determined levels of Lp(a) without having any targeted therapy available currently. Further, such studies will prove these therapies as standard for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases in patients having higher levels of Lp(a).
