STAT+: Beyond statins, one drug lowered heart attack risk by 20%

When statins aren’t enough, other cholesterol-lowering drugs come into play. But which one is most effective?

Cardiologists looking to help their patients reduce the amount of LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol threatening to clog their coronary arteries often consider two long-approved drugs, each acting through a different mechanism delivered by a different route. A new trial based on real-world evidence pitted the injectable PCSK9 inhibitor evolocumab, sold by Amgen as Repatha, against the oral cholesterol absorption inhibitor ezetimibe, now generic but previously sold by Merck as Zetia. 

Repatha was the winner.

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