Merck’s cholesterol pill gets US FDA approval | CNN

Merck said on Thursday the U.S. FDA has approved its cholesterol pill, the first of its kind to receive the health regulator’s ​nod, bolstering the drugmaker’s efforts to diversify beyond its blockbuster ‌cancer treatment Keytruda. Keytruda is set to lose key patent protections starting in 2028, exposing the company to competition from potential less expensive biosimilar versions of the drug. Lipfendra is ​a drug intended to treat patients with hypercholesterolemia, which can ​be identified by elevated levels of LDL, the so-called “bad” cholesterol ⁠in the blood, often leading to plaque buildup in the arteries. With the ​U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval, Lipfendra, also called enlicitide, would become ​the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor to enter the market, offering an alternative to a class of cholesterol-lowering drugs long dominated by injectables. It works by blocking PCSK9 protein, which ​plays a vital role in regulating cholesterol levels, while oral statins, an ​older type of cholesterol medicine, block an enzyme the liver uses to make cholesterol. About ‌one ⁠in four adults in the U.S. have high LDL cholesterol, according to the Ameri