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A new cholesterol lowering drug has been approved by the FDA, which brings excellent news to all those of us who struggle with weight loss treatments and heart problems. A similar treatment was approved just weeks earlier, which builds up some sort of competition. Repatha, the new treatment, belongs to a strong new drug class which promises help for patients who have constantly struggled to control their cholesterol by using older statin medicines.
Praulent is the other type of cholesterol lowering medication and it was designed by Sanofi SA and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. Both doctors and patients have been looking forward to the new cholesterol lowering agents, as many people are facing serious heart issues.
Repatha’s generic name is evolcumab, an injection which helps patients control their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol with current treatments. Experts recommend taking the drug in a combination with a healthy diet and tolerated statin therapy for adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, such as strokes or heart attack, which require additional lowering of LDL-C.
Such a treatment was extremely necessary, as according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, no less than 735.000 Americans suffer from heart attack on a yearly basis. Heart attack is known as the main cause of death for both men and women in America. Furthermore, coronary heart disease is the most common type of affection which kills almost half a million Americans each year in the US.
Repatha works as a monoclonal antibody which inhibits the activity of certain structures causing cholesterol levels to heighten. The protein plays a critical role in the modulation of plasma LDL-C levels. The drug reduces the concentration of LDLRs on the hepatocyte surface, which results in increased LDL-C levels.
It’s getting increasingly difficult for us to keep our health levels at full power, the more so our diets are messy, office pressure is high, we don’t eat properly, don’t sleep properly and fail to build a healthy lifestyle that could help us maintain our body’s functions at full power.
Health insurers and drug-benefit managers have expressed their concerns about the new drug’s cost. Repatha will be priced at $14.100 a year, while its competitor, Praulent, will be sold for $14.600 on a yearly basis. Considering that this is a kind of medication needed by many people, some measures should be taken in order to have the prices seriously lowered.
Image Source: medicalnewstoday.com
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