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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Aram Roston

Drugmaker Merck announces approval of new cholesterol-fighting drug

Merck Cholesterol United States
The Merck logo outside a building.
Clinical trials show that the new drug can drastically cut LDL levels. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

The drug giant Merck on Thursday announced it had received FDA approval for a daily pill that can be an alternative to statins for treating high LDL levels, or so-called bad cholesterol. The new pill, Lipfendra, is a version of a drug called a PCSK9 inhibitor.

For decades the go-to therapy to treat high cholesterol levels has been statins, the most prescribed medication in the US. But statins come occasionally with side-effects like muscle aches and they sometimes don’t drop cholesterol levels enough to meet recommended levels.

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