Praluent sees positive results in cholesterol drug tests

An analysis of clinical trials of Praluent showed that trial participants had a lower LDL cholesterol after the eight-week trial, according an announcement from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. 

The injection drug showed that six Phase III drugs led to about 75 percent of patients lowering their LDL for 75 milligrams. When the dose was increased to 150 milligrams, the results increased to nearly 100 percent of the participants.

"In this analysis of patients who required further improvement of their LDL cholesterol levels, adding Praluent 75 milligrams to their standard of care allowed the majority of patients to achieve their LDL cholesterol goals. For those who required further LDL cholesterol lowering, increasing Praluent to 150 mg provided additional efficacy," Harold Bays, from the Louisville Metabolic & Atherosclerosis Research Center, said. "Data such as these provide clinicians practical insight as to how the two Praluent doses may better allow patients to achieve their LDL cholesterol goals."

The research pool included a pool of 1,291 patients who experience high-cardiovascular risk. Applicants also included those at risk from an inherited form of high cholesterol. After Week 24, 61 percent of the trial participants who had switched to the 150 milligram injection saw an improvement.