Amgen to test new way to lower heart risk with large drug trial

Amgen is betting an experimental medicine it’s developing could become a new way to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke, beyond the lipid-lowering medicines like statins that have been the foundation of cardiovascular care for decades.

Called olpasiran, the drug is aimed at a protein particle known as lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), that, when elevated in the blood, is associated with greater likelihood of heart disease. Changes in diet and exercise don’t appear to readily remedy high Lp(a) levels and, unlike with low-density lipoprotein, or “bad,” cholesterol, no treatment is approved to lower them.