Parkway Now Introduced Inclisiran, a Cholesterol Management Drug

LEQVIO (inclisiran) is an injectable prescription medicine used along with diet and other cholesterol-lowering medicines in adults with high blood cholesterol levels called primary hyperlipidemia (including a type of high cholesterol called heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia [HeFH]) to reduce low-density lipoprotein (LDL-C) or “bad” cholesterol.

Inclisiran is one of the first of a completely new class of medicines known as gene silencing drugs. It turns off, or ‘silences’, the gene PCSK9. This boosts the liver’s ability to remove harmful cholesterol from the blood.

Statins work in a different way to reduce the amount of harmful cholesterol produced by the liver – by blocking a substance your body needs to make cholesterol.

While statins are taken daily as tablets, inclisiran will be given as an injection under the skin. After an initial dose, the drug will be given again after three months, and then twice a year, meaning patients can avoid regular visits to hospital.

Inclisiran will only be given to people with high cholesterol who have had a previous cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, unstable angina or stroke. It will only be given when treatment with statins has not helped lower their cholesterol enough or they are unable to tolerate statins.

Whether or not you are prescribed inclisiran, there are lifestyle changes you can make, such as eating healthier, reducing saturated fat intake and doing regular exercise, that can help to lower your cholesterol.

For those who have high cholesterol or who have had a cardiovascular event such as a stroke or heart attack, it is likely that you will also need some form of cholesterol lowering therapy, such as a statin, to reduce your cholesterol to a recommended level.

Inclisiran will only be given to people who are unable to lower their cholesterol with statins and/or lifestyle changes, or are unable to tolerate statin medication.