Wonder Drug: Heart Attack Risk May Drop For Millions With Drug That Reduces Cholesterol By 94%
Breakthrough treatment offers hope for those with untreatable genetic cholesterol variant
A groundbreaking experimental drug from Eli Lilly has shown the potential to reduce levels of lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) by an unprecedented 94% with just one injection, offering fresh hope to millions genetically predisposed to heart attacks and strokes.
Unlike common LDL cholesterol, Lp(a) is stubborn, genetically inherited, and not responsive to diet, exercise, or even statins. It binds aggressively to artery walls, rapidly increasing the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. Until now, no treatment had been able to effectively target it.
In Eli Lilly’s Phase 2 trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, 141 participants given a 400 mg dose of the drug saw a dramatic drop in Lp(a) levels, with effects lasting up to six months and no side effects reported. This paves the way for a completely new prevention strategy, especially for those with severe arterial blockages where current drugs or lifestyle changes are ineffective.
Experts, however, advise caution until results from larger trials arrive. “This finding offers hope… but we have to wait for Eli Lilly’s larger clinical trial results, expected in 2029,” says Dr. Nishith Chandra of Fortis Escorts Heart Institute.
Notably, Swiss pharma major Novartis is also racing to bring an Lp(a)-lowering treatment to market, with results from its monthly injectable drug expected by 2026. Lilly is further developing an oral version, now in advanced clinical stages.
If proven effective in reducing actual heart attacks and strokes, these treatments could fundamentally reshape cardiac care, finally addressing a silent genetic killer that medicine has long struggled to defeat.
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