The impact of the national cholesterol education program adult treatment panel III guidelines on drug development
Section snippets
Question 1
Data generated by the statin trials demonstrating beneficial effects on cardiovascular endpoints, in large part, contributed to the changed guidelines. Based on these data, it is becoming increasingly unethical to treat patients without a statin. Can a new, nonstatin agent be developed for patients on background statin therapy?
Conclusions
NCEP ATP III will have an impact on the development of lipid-lowering drugs. The issue of placebo controls and background statin therapy are factors that need to be considered in all long-term lipid studies. Clearly, new studies will need to be conducted to evaluate the beneficial effects of lowering triglycerides, increasing HDL-C, and combination drug regimens. There are multiple metabolic mechanisms involved in HDL-C elevation. The mechanism of action may define whether the HDL-C elevation
References (1)
Executive Summary of the Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III)
JAMA
(2001)
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