New drug effectively lowers levels of triglycerides
(HealthDay)—An experimental drug, ISIS 304801, can lower triglyceride levels by as much as 71 percent, according to study results published in the July 30 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Joseph Witztum, M.D., a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues treated 57 patients with the drug or an inactive placebo. The patients' triglyceride levels ranged between 350 and 2,000 mg/dL, and they received weekly doses of the drug over 13 weeks. The study also included 28 people who had triglyceride levels ranging from 225 to 2,000 mg/dL, who had been receiving fibrate therapy. These patients also received the new drug or placebo.
Overall, the researchers found that ISIS 304801 reduced triglyceride levels 31 to 71 percent. No safety concerns were identified.
This trial was the second of three required for drug approval in the United States. Witztum told HealthDay that phase 3 trials are underway, but the results will not be available for two to three years.
The study was funded by Isis Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of ISIS 304801.
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