Two Akcea clinical trial results published in The Lancet

Akcea Therapeutics, an Ionis Pharmaceuticals subsidiary, recently reported that significant results from two clinical studies of INOIS-APO(a) and IONIS-APO(a)-L have been published in The Lancet.

The two drugs were developed for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and aortic valve stenosis.

"Patients with Lp(a)-driven cardiovascular disease have no viable therapeutic options today for significantly lowering their Lp(a) to a level where risk can be minimal,” Ionis Pharmaceuticals VP of Clinical Development and senior author of the paper Dr. Sotirios Tsimikas said. “And, since a patient's Lp(a) level is genetically determined, changes in lifestyle, such as diet and exercise, have minimal, if any, impact. The results from these studies show, for the first time, a new therapy that can substantially reduce Lp(a), regardless of a patient's starting Lp(a) level."

Dr. Tsimikas is Professor of Medicine and Director of Vascular Medicine at the University of California at San Diego. The studies indicated substantial Lp(a) reductions of up to 99 percent, regardless of starting Lp(a) levels.  

The paper published by The Lancet, titled “Antisense oligonucleotides targeting apolipoprotein(a) in people with raised lipoprotein(a): two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging trials," reveals the results of the two trials, which were designed to assess the safety, patient tolerability and effectiveness of the antisense drugs developed to decrease elevated Lp(a) levels.