Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Drug To Clear Plaque From Arteries Shows Promising Results In Study
Bloomberg: Amgen’s Repatha Unclogs Arteries In Good Sign For Future Sales
Amgen Inc.’s Repatha was shown to strip plaque out of patients’ arteries in an imaging study, providing evidence that the injected medication helps reverse the progression of heart disease that is the leading cause of death worldwide. The results, presented at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting, are an important step as doctors, patients and investors await definitive trials on whether Repatha and a rival medicine from Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. can prevent heart attacks and deaths. Insurers, too, want evidence that the drugs lower cardiovascular events, not just cholesterol levels, to potentially extend coverage of the expensive drugs. (Chen and Cortez, 11/15)
The New York Times: Study Shows Promise For Expensive Cholesterol Drugs, But They Are Still Hard To Obtain
If there is one thing decades of studies with tens of thousands of heart disease patients have revealed, it is that lowering cholesterol can reduce the risk of heart attacks and deaths. Now, with new drugs on the market that can plunge cholesterol levels lower than ever thought possible, researchers are eagerly waiting for an answer to the next question: Is there a limit to the benefits in high-risk patients? After a certain point, do benefits level off or even reverse? (Kolata, 11/15)
Dallas Morning News: New Statin Guidelines Reignite Debate About Who Should Take Cholesterol-Lowering Pills
New guidelines recommend people between the ages of 40 and 75 take a statin if they have just one risk factor for heart disease or stroke, even if they don’t have symptoms. Statins lower cholesterol and are credited with preventing thousands of heart attacks and strokes in the U.S. each year. The new guidelines were issued by the US Preventive Services Task Force and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Previous guidelines from the task force focused on monitoring types of fat in the blood, including cholesterol and triglycerides. The new guidelines say people between the ages of 40 and 75 who have at least a 7.5 percent chance of having heart disease in the next 10 years or just one risk factor for heart attack or stroke should consider taking statins. (Yasmin, 11/15)
