Bempedoic Acid for Primary Prevention in Statin-Intolerant Patients

Cardiovascular events were less frequent with bempedoic acid, but some adverse events were more common.

Bempedoic acid, a cholesterol-lowering medication, is administered as a prodrug and is converted to its active form by enzymes found only in the liver and not in muscles; thus, its muscular side effects are lower than those of statins. A new substudy of the multinational CLEAR Outcomes trial (NCT02993406) evaluates the safety and efficacy of bempedoic acid in 4206 high-risk primary-prevention patients with reported statin intolerance who were randomized to receive 180 mg/day of oral bempedoic acid or matching placebo.

Patients' mean age was 68; 59% were female, and 66% had diabetes. At 6 months, bempedoic acid reduced low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels by 21.3% compared with placebo and reduced high-sensitivity C-reactive protein lev…

Reviewing Author

Karol E. Watson, MD, PhD, FACC

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBoehringer Ingelheim; Amgen; Novartis; Lilly; Amarin

Speaker’s BureauBoehringer Ingelheim

Grant/Research SupportNIH

Editorial BoardsCirculation (Associate Editor)