Amgen reports positive trial data for cholesterol-lowering drug

Amgen has announced detailed findings from three phase III clinical trials that demonstrate the strong performance of the investigational cholesterol-lowering medicine evolocumab.

New data from the studies that showed treatment with evolocumab resulted in a statistically significant reduction of 55 to 66 percent in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol compared to placebo in patients with high cholesterol levels.

The MENDEL-2 study showed the efficacy of the drug when used as a monotherapy, while the DESCARTES trial assessed the compound as a long-term 52-week treatment in patients on risk-based lipid-lowering therapy, and the RUTHERFORD-2 study involved the use of evolocumab in combination with statins and similar therapies in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia.

Dr Sean Harper, executive vice-president of research and development at Amgen, said: "We look forward to working with regulatory authorities on our global filing plan in the hopes of bringing this new treatment option to patients with high cholesterol who have an unmet medical need."

This follows similarly positive results for evolocumab from the phase III LAPLACE-2 and GAUSS-2 trials earlier this year.