Novartis bags elusive US approval for cholesterol drug inclisiran

At its second attempt, Novartis has won FDA approval for its cholesterol lowering drug inclisiran, which can reduce levels with just two injections a year. The FDA has approved the drug under the Leqvio trade name as an adjunct to maximum-dose statin drugs for people who need further LDL-cholesterol reduction to reach targets, a year after it was given a green light in Europe. Novartis is also running clinical trials to show that the reduction in LDL-cholesterol is accompanied by reduced cardiovascular outcomes – data that both Repatha and Praluent already have in hand.