Amgen’s cholesterol drug shows benefits in combination with statins

Amgen has reported new clinical trial data that provides further evidence of the safety and efficacy of its cholesterol therapy evolocumab.

The phase III LAPLACE-2 study assessed evolocumab in combination with statin therapy in the treatment of patients with high cholesterol, with results showing that both of the co-primary endpoints of the trial were met.

A high reduction from baseline in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) at week 12 was observed during the study, as was an encouraging mean percent reduction from baseline in LDL-C at weeks 10 and 12.

LAPLACE-2 evaluated the safety, tolerability and efficacy of evolocumab in combination with statin therapy compared to placebo and ezetimibe in 1,896 patients with high cholesterol.

Dr Sean Harper, executive vice-president of research and development at Amgen, said: "As statins continue to be an important treatment option in patients with high cholesterol, we are very encouraged by the phase III data from the LAPLACE-2 study."

Earlier this month, data from the GAUSS-2 showed evolocumab is also effective in treating patients with high cholesterol who cannot tolerate statins.