Introduction:
Some patients cannot tolerate statins mainly because of statin-associated muscle symptoms (SAMS). Bempedoic acid (BA) is a prodrug activated in the liver and not in skeletal muscle. BA has been shown to significantly lower LDL-C by a mean of ~18% in patients receiving background maximally tolerated statins and a mean of ~25% in patients with statin intolerance.
Objective:
Determine efficacy and safety of BA in statin-intolerant patients receiving no background statin therapy across 4 phase 3 clinical trials.
Methods:
Data were pooled from 4 randomized (2:1), placebo-controlled studies evaluating oral BA 180 mg once daily vs placebo for 12 to 52 weeks. Primary efficacy endpoint was LDL-C % change from baseline to week 12. Safety assessments included treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), adverse events of special interest (AESI), and laboratory values. For patients who reported SAMs, additional information around etiology and location were collected.
Results:
Of 3621 patients, 586 (394 BA; 192 placebo) reported intolerance to multiple statins because of SAMS or other AEs and received no statins during the studies. Mean baseline LDL-C was 148.7 mg/dL. After 12 weeks, BA significantly lowered LDL-C vs placebo (placebo-corrected, -26.5%;
P
< 0.001). Myalgia was the top reason for drug discontinuation, but was less common in the BA arm (17.7%) vs placebo (43.5%). CK > 5 х ULN was uncommon in both groups. Among AESIs
(Table)
, muscle disorders were reported by 12.7% (BA) vs 14.1% (placebo). Myalgia was less common with BA (4.6%) vs placebo (7.3%). Muscle spasms (4.1% vs 3.6%) and pain in extremity (3.3% vs 2.1%) were comparable between treatment groups. Muscular weakness was rare (0.5% BA, 1% placebo).
Conclusion:
Among the population of patients unable to use statins, BA significantly lowered LDL-C vs placebo without increasing muscle-related TEAEs. BA may be an appropriate lipid-lowering therapy for patients with hyperlipidemia who are statin intolerant.
EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF INCLISIRAN IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE - A POOLED ANALYSIS FROM THREE PHASE 3 CLINICAL TRIALS (ORION-9, -10 AND -11)