LEILA FADEL, HOST:
The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new kind of drug to cut cholesterol. So we've called up NPR health correspondent Rob Stein to learn what it can do. Good morning, Rob.
ROB STEIN, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: So what is this new drug?
STEIN: It's called Lipfendra, and it offers an important new way for people to protect their hearts by cutting the amount of LDL cholesterol in their blood. LDL, you know, is known as the bad cholesterol because it can clog up arteries and blood vessels, and that increases the risk for heart attacks and strokes, which remain the No. 1 killer. I talked about this development with Dr. Christopher Cannon. He's a cardiologist at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
CHRISTOPHER CANNON: The new cholesterol drug is a wonderful advance for the field that will help tens of millions of people potentially in lowering cholesterol and ultimately helping prevent heart attacks and strokes. It comes at a perfect time.
STEIN: And that's because the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology just issued new guidelines that recommend people get their cholesterol levels lower than ever before.
FADEL: And how does the drug work?
STEIN: So it works by inhibiting a protein known as PCSK9. That helps the liver get rid of bad cholesterol. And the FDA says two studies involving thousands of patients found Lipfendra could cut LDL levels big-time, by more than half, and it looks very safe. This type of drug had already been available as an injection, but, you know, a shot's a big turnoff for a lot of people. This is the first pill form, which is obviously a lot easier to take.
I should mention that the studies didn't actually show the drug reduces heart attacks and strokes, but experts think that's - there's no reason to think it wouldn't.
FADEL: Now, aren't there plenty of other really cheap drugs already available to lower cholesterol? Why would we need this one?
STEIN: So some people can control their cholesterol by eating well and exercising, but that just doesn't work for millions of people. For them, there are plenty of safe drugs that do the trick, like pills called statins. That said, there are still millions of people who can't control their cholesterol, get them down to safe levels. Here's Dr. Puja Banka from Merck, which make Lipfendra.
PUJA BANKA: Seventy percent of patients that are already on treatment are not at their guideline-recommended LDL goals. And so we really think that this new advance has the potential to change how doctors help manage their patients and get them to their recommended goals.
STEIN: By prescribing Lipfendra in addition to drugs like statins for those who need it. You know, Leila, as kind of a side, I should mention that researchers are also developing other ways to target the same PCSK9 protein that Lipfendra targets. There's even an experimental one-time gene editing therapy that's showing promise for lowering bad cholesterol for life.
FADEL: OK. So when will this new pill be available, and how much will it cost?
STEIN: Merck says doctors should be able to start prescribing Lipfendra within the next few weeks. The company says the list price will be $315 for a 30-day supply, but it'll cost a lot less for people with insurance, and Merck says it'll help people who don't have insurance.
FADEL: That's NPR health correspondent Rob Stein. Thank you, Rob.
STEIN: You bet. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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