English
French
German
You may have heard that for the first time in decades, a new class of cholesterol medication has been developed.
The FDA’s advisory panel recommended that the new medication, part of a class of drugs called “PCSK9 inhibitors,” become approved later this summer.
A lot of physicians are so excited about Praluent, the first drug in the lineup of new “PCSK9 inhibitors” ahead, because of how it differs in lowering cholesterol as compared to statins.
For decades statins have been our main cholesterol pill; Lipitor, Crestor and Zocor are a few examples.
With statins you have to take a pill daily, and LDL “bad” cholesterol is lowered by about 30%.
Statins have the well-known side effects of muscle pain and fatigue commonly reported. The average estimated cost of a generic statin annually is about $325 per patient, and goes up to about $1500 annually for a nongeneric statin.
The new “PCSK9 inhibitors” are injections that one would get once or twice a month! These injectables lower LDL cholesterol by at least 50-60%! What’s more, there are NO known side effects of these drugs (so far).
Sounds perfect right? Ready for the cost???
These drugs have an estimated cost between $7,000 to $12,000 per patient annually. Who is going to pay for that?
We are looking at adding billions of dollars to our healthcare costs and potentially raising insurance premiums for millions!
My take on this: it’s great that we are looking into better ways to lower high cholesterol, especially with fewer side effects. Yet why can’t we start before the cholesterol gets to dangerously high levels?
Why can’t we focus more on healthy diet and over all wellness education? THIS would be money well spent. If we can focus on diet and exercise we won’t end up with high cholesterol in the first place.
Lifestyle changes are a whole like cheaper than this medication.
What if we could lower the number of people walking around with high cholesterol WITHOUT adding billions to our healthcare system?
We need to get out of mindset that “Oh well, if my cholesterol goes up I guess I’ll just take that same medication everyone else is on.”
Another word of caution: These new injectable drugs may lower cholesterol more than statins, but we need more data to see if this actually translates to lower risk of heart attacks or strokes in the long run.
Why are cholesterol levels so important? The high correlation between LDL levels and our risk of heart disease and cardiac death, a major killer in the US.
I don’t deny that these drugs are a modern wonder, developed from novel genetic research. I just don’t think it should be thrown at the growing epidemic of obese, sedentary Americans.
Remember, the FDA doesn’t consider price when considering drug approval. It simply looks at safety and efficacy.
Wall street and pharmaceutical companies get very excited when a new drug like this comes to fruition. Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, makers of Praluent, stand to make quite a lot of money with this expensive drug.
Another company, Amgen, has an injectable drug up for approval soon.
I agree with several panelists who recommended the new drugs BUT that we reserve them for patients with an inherited disorder that causes abnormally high cholesterol levels, regardless of diet and lifestyle.
Look, they may in fact turn out to be “a breakthrough in the fight against heart disease” as many physicians are calling them, but what good will they be if the majority of Americans can’t afford it?
