STAT+: Amgen\u2019s cholesterol shot prevented first heart attacks and strokes, more detailed data affirm
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NEW ORLEANS \u2014 A cholesterol-lowering injection that\u2019s been on the market for nearly a decade has now shown its power to cut cardiovascular events in people considered at high risk but who haven\u2019t yet suffered a heart attack or stroke.<\/p>\n
A study published Saturday in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/a> and presented here at the American Heart Association\u2019s scientific sessions concluded that Repatha reduced coronary heart disease death, heart attack, and stroke by 25% overall and lowered first heart attacks by 36% in people with high cholesterol but no history of these serious events. Their high cholesterol meant they were already taking statins or other cholesterol-lowering medications.<\/p>\n Repatha, made by Amgen, also reduced cardiovascular problems and prevented the need for stent and bypass procedures, meeting both endpoints of the clinical trial called VESALIUS-CV. That\u2019s better than statin therapy, an older class of cholesterol-lowering drugs that became the best-selling medicines in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n Continue to STAT+ to read the full story\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n