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Clinical Outcomes in Trials Evaluating Lipid-Lowering Drugs

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Abstract

While statins have formed the cornerstone of strategies for cardiovascular prevention, the residual risk related to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and other lipoprotein factors provides a landscape for development of new therapies. However, a number of lipid-modifying therapies have failed to reduce cardiovascular event rates in contemporary clinical trials of statin-treated patients. The factors considered in outcome measure selection for clinical trials of novel lipid-lowering therapies are reviewed. Evaluation of lipid-modifying drugs in clinical trials spans a spectrum from their effects on conventional circulating lipid parameters through to their impact on atherosclerotic plaque and ultimately clinical outcomes. The design of these trials has an important impact on the result and ultimate interpretation of these studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, University of Adelaide, PO Box 11060, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia

    Julie Butters, Alex Brown, Liddy Griffith, Susan Kim & Stephen J. Nicholls

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  1. Julie Butters
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  2. Alex Brown
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  3. Liddy Griffith
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  4. Susan Kim
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  5. Stephen J. Nicholls
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Correspondence to Stephen J. Nicholls.

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No external funding was used in the preparation of this manuscript.

Conflicts of interest

Stephen J. Nicholls has received research support from Amgen, AstraZeneca, Cerenis, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Resverlogix, Roche, and Sanofi-Regeneron and is a consultant for AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, CSL Behring, Kowa, Eli Lilly, Merck, Takeda, Pfizer, Roche, and Sanofi-Regeneron. Alex Brown has received research support from Sanofi-Regeneron. Julie Butters, Liddy Griffith, and Susan Kim have no potential conflicts to disclose.

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Butters, J., Brown, A., Griffith, L. et al. Clinical Outcomes in Trials Evaluating Lipid-Lowering Drugs. Am J Cardiovasc Drugs 17, 447–452 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40256-017-0231-6

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