(NewsNation) — An experimental drug has shown success in lowering the risk of genetically inherited heart disease by 94% during the second phase of its trial.
Lepodisiran, an experimental drug from the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, is a small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy designed to lower the production of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], a genetically inherited risk factor for heart disease, according to a press release Sunday.
“Nearly a quarter of the world’s population has elevated levels of Lp(a), putting them at a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes. Unfortunately, there are no approved cholesterol-lowering therapies specifically for this genetic risk factor, and lifestyle changes like diet and exercise do not provide meaningful reductions,” said Steven Nissen, chief academic officer of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic.
“These significant and sustained Lp(a) reductions are encouraging and suggest that siRNA approaches like lepodisiran could potentially offer durable benefits with long-term dosing,” said Nissen.