Esperion Therapeutics just won a battle in its two-decade war to bring a new heart drug to market. Those who also received bempedoic acid saw their low-density lipoprotein (LDL, the so-called "bad cholesterol") decrease 23%, versus a 5% increase for those in the placebo group. Esperion's experimental medicine, bempedoic acid, was given in addition to ezetimibe, a generic cholesterol drug. Michael Yee, an analyst at Jefferies, calculates the overall rate of liver enzyme elevations is just 0.65% so far for bempedoic acid, compared to up to 2% for statins. But the big question for investors is whether there is a market for a new, branded cholesterol drug.

Source: Forbes March 07, 2018 16:52 UTC