Amgen reports positive data from new cholesterol drug trial

Amgen has announced results from a phase III trial that shows the benefits evolocumab can offer in treating patients with high cardiovascular risk and high cholesterol.

The recent Japanese YUKAWA-2 study assessed evolocumab in combination with statin therapy and met its primary endpoint by generating significant reductions in terms of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).

Evolocumab is an investigational fully human monoclonal antibody that functions by inhibiting proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9, a protein that reduces the liver's ability to remove LDL-C from the blood.

The safety and efficacy data from this trial were consistent with the positive findings seen across the clinical programme.

Dr Sean Harper, executive vice-president of research and development at Amgen, said: "Statins are an important therapy for patients with high cholesterol and adding evolocumab may help lower their LDL cholesterol levels when statins are not sufficient."

This comes in the same week that the firm submitted a biologics licence application for the new drug in the US.