Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your doctor before making changes to your medication or treatment plan.
If you or someone you love has ever worried about heart attacks or strokes, you’re not alone. Heart disease remains one of the leading causes of death for Australians, especially as we get older.
Many of us are already taking steps to keep our hearts healthy—watching what we eat, staying active, and, for some, taking cholesterol-lowering medications. But what if there was a new, easier way to lower your risk, especially if you’re already doing everything right?
A new international study led by Monash University has just revealed some exciting news: a once-daily cholesterol pill called Obicetrapib could offer fresh hope for people at high risk of heart attack and stroke, especially those who haven’t been able to get their cholesterol down with current treatments.
We’ve all heard about ‘bad cholesterol’ (LDL cholesterol), which can build up in your arteries and increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
But there’s another, lesser-known culprit: Lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a). This is an inherited type of cholesterol that’s even harder to treat, and it can quietly increase your risk of heart disease, even if your other cholesterol numbers look good.
Until now, no widely approved treatments to lower Lp(a) have been available. That’s why the results of the new ‘BROADWAY’ trial are so exciting.
The ‘BROADWAY’ trial, led by Professor Stephen Nicholls from Monash University’s Victorian Heart Institute, involved more than 2,500 people worldwide.
All participants already had heart disease or genetically high cholesterol and were taking the best available cholesterol-lowering medications.
Half the group was given Obicetrapib, while the other half received a placebo (a ‘dummy’ pill).
After just 12 weeks, those taking Obicetrapib saw their LDL cholesterol drop by an average of 32.6 per cent, and their Lp(a) levels fell by 33.5 per cent. Many people in the study reached their cholesterol targets for the first time.
Even better, the new pill was well tolerated, with no significant side effects reported, meaning it could be a safe addition to existing treatments.
Obicetrapib could be a real game-changer for these high-risk groups. It tackles the usual ‘bad’ cholesterol and targets Lp(a), which has been a stubborn problem for years.
Obicetrapib belongs to a class of drugs called CETP inhibitors. These work differently from statins, which are the most common cholesterol-lowering medications.
Obicetrapib helps clear more cholesterol from the blood by blocking a protein involved in cholesterol transport. This means it could be used alongside existing treatments, giving doctors another tool in the fight against heart disease.
While these results are promising, Obicetrapib isn’t yet available in Australia. The ‘BROADWAY’ trial is part of a larger process to get the drug approved and on pharmacy shelves.
More research is underway to confirm its long-term safety and effectiveness, and to see if it reduces the number of heart attacks and strokes, not just cholesterol numbers.
But for now, the news is encouraging, and it’s a sign that better treatments could be on the horizon for those who need them most.
‘This could be a valuable tool in the fight against heart disease,’ Nicholls said. ‘It’s convenient, it’s effective, and it may help close the gap for patients who’ve run out of options.’
Have you struggled to control your cholesterol, even with medication? Would you be interested in trying a new pill if it became available? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments below.
Also read: Cholesterol truths: what the experts say about keeping your heart healthy
More money for the pharmaceutical companies, so it’s important to know who funded this research. The article above implies BOTH the new drug and statins can be taken.