Bempedoic acid, sold under the brand name Nexletol among others, is a medication for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia (high blood cholesterol levels).[2][3]
The most common side effects include hyperuricemia (high blood levels of uric acid), pain in arms or legs, and anemia (low red blood cell counts).[3]
In the EU, bempedoic acid is indicated in adults with primary hypercholesterolaemia (heterozygous familial and non familial) or mixed dyslipidaemia, as an adjunct to diet in combination with a statin or statin with other lipid-lowering therapies in patients unable to reach LDL-C goals with the maximum tolerated dose of a statin; or alone or in combination with other lipid-lowering therapies in patients who are statin intolerant,[8] or for whom a statin is contraindicated.[3]
Side effects
Common adverse effects in clinical trials were muscle spasms (3.6% of treated patients, as compared to 2.3% under placebo), pain in the back (3.3% versus 2.2%) or in a limb (3.0% versus 1.7%), gout (1.5% versus 0.4%), and gastrointestinal problems such as diarrhea. A less common but more serious adverse effect was tendon rupture in the rotator cuff of the shoulder, the biceps tendon or the Achilles tendon (0.5% versus 0.0%).[2]
Interactions
Bempedoic acid does not interact with the cytochrome P450 enzyme system in the liver and only weakly inhibits the transporter proteins SLCO1B1, SLCO1B3 and SLC22A7 (the latter possibly being responsible for the increase of uric acid in the blood, and therefore the adverse effect gout). Despite this, the drug increases blood levels of statins. The effect is most pronounced with simvastatin and pravastatin, whose AUC is increased about twofold. No other clinically relevant interactions have been found in studies.[2]
Following oral intake, bempedoic acid reaches highest blood plasma concentrations after 3.5 hours.[2] Food does not affect its absorption.[2] When in the bloodstream, 99.3% of the substance are bound to plasma proteins.[2] About a fifth of the substance is reversibly converted by an aldo-keto reductase enzyme to a metabolite (called ESP15228) that is also pharmacologically active in form of its coenzyme A–thioester.[2] Of ESP15228, 99.2% are bound to plasma proteins.[2] Both bempedoic acid and the metabolite are inactivated by glucuronidation of their carboxylic acid groups.[2]
Bempedoic acid has a biological half-life of 21±11 hours.[2] Over 95% of the substance are excreted in form of metabolites; about 70% with the urine and 30% with the feces.[2]
History
There were two clinical trials that evaluated the benefits and side effects of bempedoic acid.[6] The trial designs were similar.[6] All enrolled subjects were on a lipid-lowering diet and taking the highest dose of a statin (drug commonly used to lower cholesterol) for high cholesterol.[6] In both trials, subjects were randomly assigned to receive bempedoic acid or placebo tablets every day for 52-weeks.[6] Neither the subjects nor the health care providers knew which treatment was being given.[6] The trials measured percent change in LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) blood levels from baseline to week twelve and compared bempedoic acid to placebo.[6] In one clinical trial, bempedoic acid reduced LDL-C by about 20 mg/dl compared to placebo and had a similar frequency of side effects to placebo, although a higher percentage of drug-receiving subjects dropped out of the study because of side effects (11% vs. 7% under placebo).[10] In one randomized controlled trial, patients who could not tolerate therapy with statins had a reduced risk of major adverse cardiovascular events after being treated with bempedoic acid.[12]
In February 2020, bempedoic acid was approved for use in the United States both as a standalone drug (brand name Nexletol)[5][17][18][19] and in a fixed-dose combination with ezetimibe (brand name Nexlizet).[20] The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted the approval of Nexletol to Esperion Therapeutics.[2][5]
The FDA approved bempedoic acid based on evidence from two clinical trials (Trial 1/ NCT02666664 and Trial 2/NCT02991118) of 3009 subjects with high LDL cholesterol and known atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease or HeFH.[6] The trials were conducted in United States, Canada, and Europe.[6]
^ abcdefg"Nilemdo EPAR". European Medicines Agency (EMA). 29 January 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2020. Text was copied from this source which is copyright European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledged.
^Nissen SE, Lincoff AM, Brennan D, Ray KK, Mason D, Kastelein JJ, et al. (April 2023). "Bempedoic Acid and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Statin-Intolerant Patients". The New England Journal of Medicine. 388 (15): 1353–1364. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2215024. hdl:10044/1/103990. PMID36876740. S2CID257362065.
^Nissen SE, Lincoff AM, Brennan D, Ray KK, Mason D, Kastelein JJ, et al. (April 2023). "Bempedoic Acid and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Statin-Intolerant Patients". The New England Journal of Medicine. 388 (15): 1353–1364. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2215024. hdl:10044/1/103990. PMID36876740. S2CID257362065.
Saeed A, Ballantyne CM (May 2018). "Bempedoic Acid (ETC-1002): A Current Review". Cardiology Clinics. 36 (2): 257–264. doi:10.1016/j.ccl.2017.12.007. PMID29609755.
Zagelbaum NK, Yandrapalli S, Nabors C, Frishman WH (2019). "Bempedoic Acid (ETC-1002): ATP Citrate Lyase Inhibitor: Review of a First-in-Class Medication with Potential Benefit in Statin-Refractory Cases". Cardiology in Review. 27 (1): 49–56. doi:10.1097/CRD.0000000000000218. PMID29939848. S2CID49411718.
External links
Clinical trial number NCT02666664 for "Evaluation of Long-Term Safety and Tolerability of ETC-1002 in High-Risk Patients With Hyperlipidemia and High CV Risk (CLEAR Harmony)" at ClinicalTrials.gov
Clinical trial number NCT02988115 for "Evaluation of the Efficacy and Safety of Bempedoic Acid (ETC-1002) in Patients With Hyperlipidemia and Statin Intolerant (CLEAR Serenity)" at ClinicalTrials.gov
Clinical trial number NCT02991118 for "Evaluation of Long-Term Efficacy of Bempedoic Acid (ETC-1002) in Patients With Hyperlipidemia at High Cardiovascular Risk (CLEAR Wisdom)" at ClinicalTrials.gov