Cholesterol drugs from Sanofi and Amgen ‘prove to be effective’

Two large-scale phase III studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of Sanofi’s Praluent and Amgen’s Repatha against statins in high-risk patients for lowering cholesterol.

Sanofi's ODYSSEY study – undertaken by the University of Iowa – assessed 2,341 people who were already being treated for high cholesterol, with each randomly assigned to the Praulent or placebo group.

Each patient continued with the treatment they were already taking in addition to the new drug or placebo and were monitored for 78 weeks.

After around six months, the average reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LD) cholesterol was 62 percent greater in the Praulent group compared to the patients taking the placebo.

In Amgen's OSLER-1 and OSLER-2 trials – carried out by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston – 4,465 people with high cholesterol were treated with Repatha in addition to statins or statins on their own.

After one year, the average reduction of LDL cholesterol for those taking Repatha was 61 percent higher than the statins-only group.

Dr Marc Sabatine, author of the study for Repatha, commented: "[The results] suggest that if we can drive a patient’s LDL cholesterol down a large amount to a very low level, we may start to see a benefit sooner than would be expected with a more modest intervention."