{"id":280230,"date":"2025-11-08T23:42:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T23:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/280230\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T23:42:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T23:42:09","slug":"mercks-experimental-pill-lowered-bad-cholesterol-as-much-as-shots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/280230\/","title":{"rendered":"Merck’s experimental pill lowered bad cholesterol as much as shots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Elizabeth Cooney is a cardiovascular disease reporter at STAT, covering heart, stroke, and metabolic conditions. You can reach Liz on Signal at LizC.22.<\/p>\n

NEW ORLEANS \u2014 A pill designed to further lower cholesterol in people already on statins but at risk of a serious cardiovascular event \u2014 their first or a recurrence \u2014 reduced LDL cholesterol by up to 60%, a new late-stage trial presented here Saturday has found. Two-thirds of patients cut their cholesterol by at least half.<\/p>\n

The trial fulfills a longtime goal of Merck: to make a pill that achieves LDL cholesterol reductions on par with those obtained with injected monoclonal antibodies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Enlicitide, Merck\u2019s oral, once-daily PCSK9 inhibitor, was tested against a placebo in a Phase 3 clinical trial that enrolled 2,900 people with high levels of LDL, or \u201cbad,\u201d cholesterol. The participants had experienced or were at risk of a major cardiovascular problem because of predispositions such as excess weight, obesity, or diabetes. The list of serious conditions included coronary heart disease, a heart attack, or a stroke as well as peripheral artery disease.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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