This New Oral Pill Could Make Lowering LDL Cholesterol Easier

Lipfendra (enlicitide), described as the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, aims to make lowering LDL cholesterol easier for people who otherwise rely on injections. The drug can be used alone or alongside statins. PCSK9 inhibitors have been available for about a decade—examples include Repatha and Praluent—but are “underused,” according to Allen Taylor of MedStar Washington Hospital Center and MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. In two clinical trials with more than 3,000 adults already taking statins, Lipfendra reduced LDL by about 56% more than placebo in participants with heart disease or high risk, and by about 59% more in those with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia.