Merck announced that its new oral medication successfully met its primary endpoint in two phase III clinical trials, significantly lowering a specific type of cholesterol.
The company is testing its non-statin pill, called enlicitide decanoate, for the treatment of hyperlipidemia — a condition that leads to excessive fat buildup in blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The drug demonstrated a notable reduction in LDL-C (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), commonly referred to as “bad cholesterol.”
Enlicitide decanoate works by inhibiting PCSK9, a protein that plays a key role in cholesterol regulation, whereas statins function by blocking the enzyme responsible for cholesterol production in the liver.
