Lilly’s lepodisiran reduces levels of inherited heart disease risk factor, lipoprotein(a) by approx 94% from baseline at the highest tested dose in adults with elevated levels

Eli Lilly announces their new positive Phase 2 results for lepodisiran, an investigational small interfering RNA (siRNA) therapy designed to lower the production of lipoprotein(a), a genetically inherited risk factor for heart disease. In the Phase 2 ALPACA study, lepodisiran significantly reduced Lp(a) levels by an average of 93.9% over the 60 to 180-day period after treatment with the highest tested dose, meeting the primary endpoint.

Note that Lepodisiran also met additional secondary endpoints, showing reductions in Lp(a) levels following one or two administrations of each of the three tested doses across all timepoints assessed throughout the nearly 18-month-long study. Lepodisiran was administered twice at each dose (16 mg, 96 mg, or 400 mg), once at baseline and at day 180, with a separate group receiving 400 mg at baseline and placebo at day 180. The effect of additional doses of lepodisiran remains undetermined.

“Nearly a quarter of the world’s population has elevated levels of Lp(a), putting them at a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes. Unfortunately, there are no approved cholesterol-lowering therapies specifically for this genetic risk factor, and lifestyle changes like diet and exercise do not provide meaningful reductions,” said Steven Nissen, M.D., chief academic officer of the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. “These significant and sustained Lp(a) reductions are encouraging and suggest that siRNA approaches like lepodisiran could potentially offer durable benefits with long-term dosing.”

“Reducing the inherited cardiovascular risk for patients with high Lp(a) has long been a critically unmet need. These results offer hope for a long-term, durable treatment option,” said Ruth Gimeno, group vice president, diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic research at Lilly. “These data underscore Lilly’s commitment to advancing genetic medicine to address one of the world’s most pressing healthcare challenges. We will continue to evaluate the potential benefits of lepodisiran in the ongoing Phase 3 cardiovascular outcomes trial.”

 

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heart disease, Lilly's lepodisiran, lipoprotein(a)