Summary

Approximately 10% to 20% of patients treated with statins experience side effects, primarily musculoskeletal side effects, which diminish compliance or cause discontinuation of therapy [Zhang H et al. Ann Intern Med 2013; Mancini GB et al Can J Cardiol 2011]. Evolocumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), reduced levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) to a greater extent than ezetimibe in hypercholesterolemic patients who could not tolerate effective doses of statins. This article presents the results from a double-blind multicenter Phase 3 Goal Achievement After Utilizing an Anti-PCSK9 Antibody in Statin-Intolerant Subjects 2 study [GAUSS-2; Stroes E et al. J Am Coll Cardiol 2014].