Amgen cholesterol drug meets goal of 3rd late stage trial

[riky]

Amgen cholesterol drug meets goal of 3rd late stage trial

A cholesterol fighter developed by Amgen Inc from a highly promising new class of medicines significantly lowered levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol in a late stage trial in patients unable to tolerate statin drugs, the company said on Thursday. The results marked the third successful Phase III test of the drug evolocumab reported by Amgen in recent months - this one in a patient population among the most in need of alternative therapies. An estimated five to 20 percent of heart patients are intolerant of statin medications for lowering cholesterol due to side effects such as muscle weakness or fatigue, Amgen said. Evolocumab belongs to a class of medicine called PCSK9 inhibitors that work by blocking a protein that reduces the liver's ability to remove LDL cholesterol from the blood.

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