Merck's Oral PCSK9 Inhibitor Could Pose A Future Threat After Early Trial Success

 
• By Jessica Merrill
  
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MK-0616 – administered orally – reduced LDL cholesterol in patients in two early clinical trials presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions.

pills versus injections
Merck's oral PCSK9 blocker shows similar efficacy to injections • Source: Alamy

Several PCSK9 inhibitors have demonstrated strong efficacy when it comes to reducing LDL-cholesterol, but none have had the promise of being available orally – until now Merck & Co., Inc. announced positive data on 15 November from two early clinical trials on its oral PCSK9 inhibitor MK-0616, suggesting the asset could become an important candidate in the company's cardiovascular pipeline.

Presented at the American Heart Association annual meeting, the data are the first from human studies testing MK-0616, and showed...

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