For patients trying to lower their LDL cholesterol levels, a newly approved medication, enlicitide, could make treatment more convenient. Dr. Ninel Hovnanians, a cardiologist with UW Medicine, explains how enlicitide works and how it differs from statins, the first-line therapy for most such patients.
“This drug comes from the same (PCSK9 inhibitor) family of some of the other drugs,” Hovnanians said. “The only difference is that those drugs are injections every two weeks or every month, and this drug is the oral (daily) version of those medications.”
Enlicitide reduces LDL levels by increasing the body’s clearance of cholesterol from the bloodstream. Hovnanians emphasized that it is intended to bolster the effect of an existing statin prescription, not to replace statin therapy.
Download video soundbites and other broadcast-quality resources with Hovnanians. Read our related Noteworthy item.
