Patent Update: Cardiovascular & Renal: Approaches to anti-atherosclerotic drugs independent of lipid lowering

Abstract

The power of existing therapies for lowering plasma cholesterol has now been thoroughly documented. Either on their own or in combination with bile acid sequestrants, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors can achieve substantial reductions in plasma cholesterol in hypercholesterolaemic patients. An increasing number of clinical studies suggest that these reductions translate into a decreased incidence of cardiovascular clinical events, although this point is heavily disputed in some areas. The patent literature suggests that the search for new drugs is talcing into account the growing understanding of the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Many recent patent applications are concerned with interventions that are based on the events that take place in the arterial wall during atherogenesis rather than on modification of plasma lipids. In this review the background to such applications is considered in the context of the current clinical and commercial situation.