New hope has emerged for crores of patients suffering from heart disease and increased bad cholesterol i.e. LDL. The initial trial results of American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly’s new gene therapy drug Verv-102 are said to be quite encouraging. This medicine is given only once through a vein and can help keep bad cholesterol under control for a long time.
Verv-102 is a medicine based on gene editing technology. It targets a protein called PCSK9 present in the body. This protein is produced in the liver and damages the receptors that remove bad cholesterol from the body.
According to scientists, people who have naturally less active PCK9 have a significantly lower risk of heart disease. Verv-102 works by going to liver cells to “turn off” the PCK9 gene, which may help lower LDL cholesterol for a longer period of time.
The initial study conducted by the company included 35 patients. PCK9 levels decreased by 51% to 88% in patients during the trial. At the same time, a decline in bad cholesterol LDL-C was seen from 9% to 62%.
In some patients the effect of the medicine persisted for 18 months. Experts believe that if further trials are also successful, this therapy can bring a big change in the treatment of heart disease.
There are currently several drugs on the market that control PCK9, such as Repatha, Praluent, and Lequio. But these medicines have to be taken again and again.
The biggest feature of Verv-102 is that it can be a “one-time gene therapy”. This means that once treated, cholesterol can be controlled for a long time.
Riyaz S Patel, a cardiologist at University College London, said many patients are unable to keep their cholesterol under control for long. This increases the risk of heart attack and other serious diseases. In such a situation, this new gene therapy can prove to be an important option in the future.
However, experts say that more studies are yet to be done on a large scale regarding the safety and effectiveness of this technology.