An experimental gene therapy for high cholesterol is showing promise in clinical trials and inching closer to approval.
The treatment, called VERVE-102, is being tested in people with familial hypercholesterolemia (FH), an inherited condition that raises the levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol — the "bad" kind — in the blood. It's also being tested in people with premature coronary artery disease (CAD), in which the arteries narrow and can't deliver enough oxygenated blood to heart muscle. The age at which CAD is considered "premature" varies, but it generally occurs before age 65 in women and age 55 in men.
