Zydus Lifesciences launches drug for treating bad cholesterol

Zydus Lifesciences on Friday said it has launched in India its Bempedoic acid drug under the Bemdac brand for treatment of uncontrolled levels of bad cholesterol.

Bemdac (Bempedoic acid) is a new class of drug which is orally administered and offers a new line of treatment for patients suffering from uncontrolled levels of LDL-Cholesterol (LDL-c) despite lifestyle modifications and the use of maximum tolerated dose of statins, which form the cornerstone of dyslipidemia management, the company said in a regulatory filing.

"With Bemdac we are happy to introduce a first-in-India therapy to address the unmet medical need of people suffering from uncontrolled LDL-c," Zydus Lifesciences Managing Director Sharvil Patel said.

Stating that Bemdac is an important addition to Zydus' portfolio of medicines for managing dyslipidemia and cholesterol, Patel said the mission is to empower patients with a better quality of life through effective disease management and with Bemdac the company has taken a great leap ahead in this endeavour.

The company said LDL-c is often referred to as bad cholesterol since it gets deposited in the walls of the blood vessels, increasing the chances of health problems like heart attack or stroke. Uncontrolled LDL-c is a major risk factor for developing cardiovascular diseases.

Citing various studies, Zydus said, 8 out of 10 Indians are dyslipidemic1 and 112 million adults suffer from high levels of LDL-c; 7 out of 10 dyslipidemia patients who are on statin treatment continue to suffer from uncontrolled LDL-c.

Besides this, 5.4 million Indians are found to be intolerant to statin therapy, it added.

Bempedoic acid has also shown to have good results in patients not able to tolerate statins and those who do not respond to statins. This is a huge unmet healthcare need which Bemdac addresses, Zydus claimed.