Statins are often the first-line therapy in the treatment of patients with hypercholesterolemia. Though often regarded as relatively low risk and widely effective in treating hypercholesterolemia, statin therapy has a variety of limitations, including statin resistance and statin intolerance. These limitations have led researchers to actively investigate other types of cholesterol-lowering remedies that utilize mechanisms unlike those targeted by statins. Bempedoic acid, an oral prodrug that upon activation reduces LDL-C by inhibition of ATP citrate lyase, has been thoroughly evaluated as one such therapy for treating hypercholesterolemia. Through a variety of clinical trials, bempedoic acid, formerly referred to as ETC-1002, has displayed efficiency as both a low-risk monotherapy and a secondary therapy. In this latter role, bempedoic acid has been used in conjunction with statin or ezetimibe treatment by hypercholesteremic patients with a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) or heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) or both. Based on promising results from phase III clinical trials, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bempedoic acid, under the brand name Nexletol, for treatment of hypercholesterolemia in conjunction with other cholesterol-lowering medications.

Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)