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| Cholesterol-Slashing Drug Can Protect High-Risk Heart Patients, Study Finds | Cholesterol-Slashing Drug Can Protect High-Risk Heart Patients, Study Finds |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The first rigorous test of an expensive new drug that radically lowers cholesterol levels found that it significantly reduced the chance that a high-risk patient would have a heart attack or stroke. These were men and women who had exhausted all other options. | The first rigorous test of an expensive new drug that radically lowers cholesterol levels found that it significantly reduced the chance that a high-risk patient would have a heart attack or stroke. These were men and women who had exhausted all other options. |
| The results of the study, which cost about $1 billion and was paid for by Amgen, maker of the drug, were published on Friday in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. | The results of the study, which cost about $1 billion and was paid for by Amgen, maker of the drug, were published on Friday in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology. |
| The drug, Repatha, is called a PCSK9 inhibitor and can make cholesterol tumble to levels almost never seen naturally in adults, or even in people taking cholesterol-lowering statins. The Amgen drug and a similar one, sold by Sanofi and Regeneron, were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2015 with the hope — and expectation — that they would lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and not just reduce levels of LDL cholesterol, the dangerous kind. | The drug, Repatha, is called a PCSK9 inhibitor and can make cholesterol tumble to levels almost never seen naturally in adults, or even in people taking cholesterol-lowering statins. The Amgen drug and a similar one, sold by Sanofi and Regeneron, were approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2015 with the hope — and expectation — that they would lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes, and not just reduce levels of LDL cholesterol, the dangerous kind. |
| That hope has now been realized for the Amgen drug. | That hope has now been realized for the Amgen drug. |
| “This is like the era of the statins coming in,” said Dr. Eugene Braunwald, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the study. Like statins, which were introduced in the 1980s, the new class of drugs has the potential to improve the health and longevity of millions of Americans with heart disease, the nation’s leading killer, accounting for one in four deaths. | “This is like the era of the statins coming in,” said Dr. Eugene Braunwald, a cardiologist at Harvard Medical School who was not involved in the study. Like statins, which were introduced in the 1980s, the new class of drugs has the potential to improve the health and longevity of millions of Americans with heart disease, the nation’s leading killer, accounting for one in four deaths. |
| “It’s a new ballgame,” he said. | “It’s a new ballgame,” he said. |
| But cost will be an issue. Statins are available as cheap generics. The new drugs have a list price of $14,523 a year. “The next big challenge is financial: how to pay for it,” said Dr. David Maron, director of preventive cardiology at Stanford, who also was not involved in the study. | But cost will be an issue. Statins are available as cheap generics. The new drugs have a list price of $14,523 a year. “The next big challenge is financial: how to pay for it,” said Dr. David Maron, director of preventive cardiology at Stanford, who also was not involved in the study. |
| Insurance companies have been reluctant to pay for the drug without evidence it protected high-risk patients from heart attacks and strokes. Kristine Grow, a spokeswoman for the insurers’ organization America’s Health Insurance Plans, said insurers would consider the new data. | Insurance companies have been reluctant to pay for the drug without evidence it protected high-risk patients from heart attacks and strokes. Kristine Grow, a spokeswoman for the insurers’ organization America’s Health Insurance Plans, said insurers would consider the new data. |
| The study involved 27,564 men and women. About 80 percent had already had a heart attack, and the rest had had a stroke or had pain in their legs and feet from narrowed arteries. They were taking optimal doses of inexpensive, cholesterol-lowering statins, which gave them an average LDL of 92, well within the range — an LDL of under 100 — that has been advised for high-risk patients. | The study involved 27,564 men and women. About 80 percent had already had a heart attack, and the rest had had a stroke or had pain in their legs and feet from narrowed arteries. They were taking optimal doses of inexpensive, cholesterol-lowering statins, which gave them an average LDL of 92, well within the range — an LDL of under 100 — that has been advised for high-risk patients. |
| All continued with their statins, but half were assigned to inject themselves with Repatha, also known as evolocumab, and the rest were assigned a placebo. Those taking the new drug reached an average LDL of 30. A quarter of participants got to an LDL of 19 or lower. | All continued with their statins, but half were assigned to inject themselves with Repatha, also known as evolocumab, and the rest were assigned a placebo. Those taking the new drug reached an average LDL of 30. A quarter of participants got to an LDL of 19 or lower. |
| Amgen estimates that about 11 million Americans are eligible to take the drug. They include people like those in the study and people who have a genetic condition, familial hypercholesterolemia, that results in intractably high LDL levels and a grave risk of a heart attack. | Amgen estimates that about 11 million Americans are eligible to take the drug. They include people like those in the study and people who have a genetic condition, familial hypercholesterolemia, that results in intractably high LDL levels and a grave risk of a heart attack. |
| Amgen maintains that its drug is worth the price and that by preventing heart attacks and strokes, it will also prevent the costs associated with treating patients with worsening conditions. But the drug would need to be taken for life, and the bill for its widespread use could potentially be huge. | Amgen maintains that its drug is worth the price and that by preventing heart attacks and strokes, it will also prevent the costs associated with treating patients with worsening conditions. But the drug would need to be taken for life, and the bill for its widespread use could potentially be huge. |
| For cardiologists, the study was a crucial test of a long-held hypothesis: the lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, the better. | For cardiologists, the study was a crucial test of a long-held hypothesis: the lower the level of cholesterol in the blood, the better. |
| The results support that hypothesis. There seemed to be no floor to the benefits of cholesterol lowering, at least down to the stunningly low levels achieved in the study. The lower the LDL, the lower the risk, with no leveling off of the linear relationship. | The results support that hypothesis. There seemed to be no floor to the benefits of cholesterol lowering, at least down to the stunningly low levels achieved in the study. The lower the LDL, the lower the risk, with no leveling off of the linear relationship. |
| Dr. Maron said the results were “incredibly important,” adding, “The future looks brighter for patients with established coronary disease.” | Dr. Maron said the results were “incredibly important,” adding, “The future looks brighter for patients with established coronary disease.” |
| But Dr. Rita Redberg, a cardiologist at the University of California, San Francisco, tempered her enthusiasm, saying she would like to see what happens to the death rates over a longer period of time. | |
| Dr. Redberg also worried about the potential for bias because Amgen paid for the study, helped design it, collected the data and helped write the paper. The data analysis was done independently by a team of academic researchers, led by Dr. Marc S. Sabatine, chairman of a cardiovascular research group called TIMI at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. | Dr. Redberg also worried about the potential for bias because Amgen paid for the study, helped design it, collected the data and helped write the paper. The data analysis was done independently by a team of academic researchers, led by Dr. Marc S. Sabatine, chairman of a cardiovascular research group called TIMI at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School. |
| Participants in the study who used Amgen’s drug for 2.2 years were 20 percent less likely to die from heart disease, have a heart attack or have a stroke (816 patients taking evolocumab had one of those outcomes, compared with 1,013 taking the placebo). | Participants in the study who used Amgen’s drug for 2.2 years were 20 percent less likely to die from heart disease, have a heart attack or have a stroke (816 patients taking evolocumab had one of those outcomes, compared with 1,013 taking the placebo). |
| There was a 15 percent reduction in the combined risk of having a heart attack or stroke or dying from cardiovascular disease, being hospitalized for worsening chest pain, or having a stent inserted to open a blocked artery (1,344 evolocumab patients versus 1,563 placebo patients). | There was a 15 percent reduction in the combined risk of having a heart attack or stroke or dying from cardiovascular disease, being hospitalized for worsening chest pain, or having a stent inserted to open a blocked artery (1,344 evolocumab patients versus 1,563 placebo patients). |
| The absolute reduction in the risk of a heart attack or stroke was 1.3 percent at two years, Amgen said, and 2 percent at three years. | The absolute reduction in the risk of a heart attack or stroke was 1.3 percent at two years, Amgen said, and 2 percent at three years. |
| That means that 74 high-risk patients would have to be treated for two years to prevent one heart attack or stroke or death from heart disease and that at three years 50 would have to be treated. Extrapolating, the authors predicted that after five years, just 17 high-risk patients would have to be treated. | That means that 74 high-risk patients would have to be treated for two years to prevent one heart attack or stroke or death from heart disease and that at three years 50 would have to be treated. Extrapolating, the authors predicted that after five years, just 17 high-risk patients would have to be treated. |
| “Reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 20 percent is a pretty big reduction,” Dr. Sabatine said. He and others predicted that the risk would be reduced further as time went on, as it does in patients taking statins. He noted that that effect was already emerging, with a 25 percent reduction in the second year. | “Reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke by 20 percent is a pretty big reduction,” Dr. Sabatine said. He and others predicted that the risk would be reduced further as time went on, as it does in patients taking statins. He noted that that effect was already emerging, with a 25 percent reduction in the second year. |
| The only side effect seen during the study was a small incidence of redness or itching at the injection site, with 2.1 percent of those taking the Amgen drug reporting such effects, compared with 1.6 percent of those taking the placebo injections. But patients in general did not stop using the drug for that reason. | The only side effect seen during the study was a small incidence of redness or itching at the injection site, with 2.1 percent of those taking the Amgen drug reporting such effects, compared with 1.6 percent of those taking the placebo injections. But patients in general did not stop using the drug for that reason. |
| There had been concerns that the drug might increase the risk of diabetes, or affect thinking and memory, but those effects were not seen. | There had been concerns that the drug might increase the risk of diabetes, or affect thinking and memory, but those effects were not seen. |
| Despite the positive results, about 10 percent taking the drug had a heart attack or stroke, or died of heart disease during the trial. | Despite the positive results, about 10 percent taking the drug had a heart attack or stroke, or died of heart disease during the trial. |
| Many high-risk patients did not wait for the results and were already taking the Amgen drug outside the trial, betting it would help. | Many high-risk patients did not wait for the results and were already taking the Amgen drug outside the trial, betting it would help. |
| Robert Johnson, 51, of Glen Mills, Pa., had a father who died of a heart attack at age 42. He has familial hypercholesterolemia, and his LDL in 2011 was 377. He’s taking the Amgen drug and a statin. Now his LDL is about 80. | Robert Johnson, 51, of Glen Mills, Pa., had a father who died of a heart attack at age 42. He has familial hypercholesterolemia, and his LDL in 2011 was 377. He’s taking the Amgen drug and a statin. Now his LDL is about 80. |
| “I feel much safer, much better,” he said. “I always felt there was a ticking time bomb in my heart.” | “I feel much safer, much better,” he said. “I always felt there was a ticking time bomb in my heart.” |
| Andrew Timmins, 65, of Boxford, Mass., had a heart attack 18 years ago and lived in constant fear of another. Despite taking the maximum dose of the most powerful statin, he never got his LDL below 180. Amgen’s drug brought it down to 42, he said. | Andrew Timmins, 65, of Boxford, Mass., had a heart attack 18 years ago and lived in constant fear of another. Despite taking the maximum dose of the most powerful statin, he never got his LDL below 180. Amgen’s drug brought it down to 42, he said. |
| He started taking it last summer at the suggestion of a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. When his general practitioner saw his blood work, he came bursting into the exam room. “He said, ‘I’ve never seen numbers like these. These are incredible,’” Mr. Timmins recalled. | He started taking it last summer at the suggestion of a doctor at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. When his general practitioner saw his blood work, he came bursting into the exam room. “He said, ‘I’ve never seen numbers like these. These are incredible,’” Mr. Timmins recalled. |
| “I have a new lease on life,” he said. | “I have a new lease on life,” he said. |
| Kim Chaples, 55, of Lansdale, Pa., had an LDL of 200 even though she was taking maximum doses of a statin. | Kim Chaples, 55, of Lansdale, Pa., had an LDL of 200 even though she was taking maximum doses of a statin. |
| “I was scared,” she said. | “I was scared,” she said. |
| Two years ago, her LDL soared to 450 for no apparent reason. | Two years ago, her LDL soared to 450 for no apparent reason. |
| Dr. Daniel Soffer of the University of Pennsylvania changed her statin prescription to the maximum dose of the most powerful one, and then said, “There’s a drug out there I want you to try.” | Dr. Daniel Soffer of the University of Pennsylvania changed her statin prescription to the maximum dose of the most powerful one, and then said, “There’s a drug out there I want you to try.” |
| She began taking evolocumab along with the statin. Two months later, her LDL was 50. | She began taking evolocumab along with the statin. Two months later, her LDL was 50. |
| When she saw the lab report, she assumed there had been a mix-up. “I thought, ‘This cannot be mine,’” she said. | When she saw the lab report, she assumed there had been a mix-up. “I thought, ‘This cannot be mine,’” she said. |
| Hearing the results of the new study, she said, “makes me feel very good.” | Hearing the results of the new study, she said, “makes me feel very good.” |