Study finds alternative to statins, led by director of new Victorian Heart Hospital at Monash Health

A revolutionary new pill may help hundreds of thousands of Australians suffering from cholesterol following a new study.

A daily pill proven to significantly lower cholesterol and reduce heart attacks is set to be a lifesaver.

A revolutionary new daily pill proven to significantly lower cholesterol and reduce heart attacks is set to be a lifesaver for hundreds of thousands of Australians.

High cholesterol is life-threatening and can cause arteries to narrow, reducing blood circulation and creating a risk of heart attack or stroke.

The findings of a major four-year global study of a bempedoic acid drug sold as Nexletol were presented overnight at the World Congress of Cardiology in New Orleans in the US and also published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

The research and trial were co-led by internationally renowned cardiologist Professor Stephen Nicholls, director of the new Victorian Heart Hospital at Monash Health and Monash University’s Victorian Heart Institute.

The goal was to find an alternative to the class of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins that, while successful, are not well tolerated by one in five people.

Professor Nicholls has been involved in developing an alternative for more than a decade.

“Statins have been great, but they are not going to be the magic elixir for everyone and we needed other options,” he says.

Professor Stephen Nicholls has for a decade been involved in developing an alternative. Picture: Rebecca Michael

Professor Nicholls says not only is the new drug a game-changer for patients who can’t tolerate statins, but every time patients are given more choices and options, they are getting better at controlling their heart disease.

“Patients who can’t tolerate statins are a real problem in clinical practice,” he says. “It limits our ability to effectively lower cholesterol in many patients.

“This new drug has the potential to help between 100,000 and 500,000 people in Australia.’’

The landmark study found the new drug lowered ‘bad’ cholesterol, reduced heart attacks and cardiovascular complications and also significantly reduced the need for medical intervention for blocked arteries.

Professor Nicholls says like statins, bempedoic acid targets cholesterol production in the liver.

“Where it is unique and interesting to us is that when you ingest it, the drug is in an inactive form and has to get ‘switched on’ in the liver, not the muscle. The most common side effect in statins is that patients get aches and pains in the muscles.”

The study involved 14,000 adults with high cholesterol who could not tolerate statins. They were from 32 countries including Australia.

Professor Nicholls said one of the things the team was really proud of was that 50 per cent of the study participants were women.

“One of the really big problems of women and heart disease is under recognition and under treatment,” he says.

The landmark study found the new drug lowered ‘bad’ cholesterol and reduced heart attacks.

Statins are used daily by about 2.5 million Australians, but Professor Nicholls says along with the 20 per cent who can’t tolerate them, as many as 50 per cent of high risk patients on statins still struggle to get their cholesterol down to safe levels.

Cholesterol is a fatty substance that occurs naturally in the body and helps with functions such as producing hormones. Too much, known as high cholesterol, is caused by factors including genes, bad diet and lack of exercise and can lead to heart disease, one of the biggest killers of Australian adults.

The new drug is being developed by US-based pharmaceutical company Esperion Therapeutics and will go to the Therapeutics Goods Administration for approval for use in Australia.

It has already been approved for use in the US, the UK, the European Union and Switzerland.

Professor Nicholls expects it to be available for Australian patients in the next two years.

He has urged every Australian to know their numbers and have heart health checks.

“You can’t lower your cholesterol if you don’t know it is high; it doesn’t have symptoms so not knowing your cholesterol and also your blood pressure puts you at high risk,” he said.

“Know your numbers and talk to your GP. That’s where it starts; be part of the conversation with your doctor about approaches that starts with lifestyle.”