A Revolutionary Shift in Cholesterol Treatment: A Vaccine Instead of Statins

Soon, cholesterol treatment will become easier and more effective: the FDA has approved the marketing of a new injection for high cholesterol. It is powerful and administered only once every two weeks. By the end of the summer, the FDA is expected to give final approval for the distribution of the drug.

High cholesterol is a common issue. Tens of thousands of Israelis suffer from high cholesterol levels. Cholesterol, found in every cell of our body, is one of the leading causes of death when levels are too high: High cholesterol levels accumulate in the walls of blood vessels, causing an inflammatory process that blocks the vessels and leads to heart attacks, strokes, the formation of fatty liver, and many other diseases.

Statin pills revolutionized the treatment of high cholesterol: they reduce the cholesterol level in patients' blood, significantly lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, statins have severe side effects: unbearable muscle pain, increased liver risk, digestive issues, elevated sugar levels, and possibly even memory impairment.

The new drug Alirocumab, produced by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi, is essentially a vaccine that reduces bad cholesterol LDL levels by inhibiting a specific protein that hinders cholesterol production in the liver.

A study conducted by Sanofi on 5,000 patients with high cholesterol showed that the new bi-weekly injection significantly reduced cholesterol levels, even more than statin drugs. Another advantage of the injection is the lack of side effects, except for mild sensitivity, redness, or itching at the injection site, which resolve on their own.

An FDA expert panel decided to recommend the drug's marketing, with a vote of 13 in favor versus three against. Initially, the drug will be given to patients suffering from a genetic disease called familial hypercholesterolemia. This summer, it is expected that the FDA will approve the marketing of the vaccine for hypercholesterolemia patients, and it seems that eventually, the vaccine will be approved for the general population and will cause a major revolution in cholesterol treatment.