Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s cholesterol drug cut levels of the heart disease-causing fat in four studies, and there are early indications it may prevent death and heart attack.
In the largest of the four trials, among 2,341 patients, those receiving the drug, alirocumab, had a 62 percent reduction in their levels of bad cholesterol after six months of treatment compared with those who received a placebo, the two companies said in a statement today. An analysis also showed patients taking the drug had half the risk of early death, heart attack, stroke or hospitalization as the placebo group, though a larger study is needed to confirm that result.
