High levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood causes plaque buildup in the arteries and eventually leads to heart disease. This is the leading cause of death for Americans and kills about 610,000 people every year. US regulators have now approved Repatha, the second injectable drug of its kind designed for certain patients with stubbornly high cholesterol which puts them at risk of heart disease. These new drugs offer an alternative to popular anti-cholesterol drugs known as statins (Lipitor, Crestor and others) which are not tolerated by all patients.

Repatha is also known as evolocumab. It is made by Amgen and is part of a new class of drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors, or antibodies which work on the liver to lower cholesterol. It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for people with inherited conditions that cause high levels of LDL, or bad cholesterol, as well as people whose clogged arteries have led to heart disease.

John Jenkins, director of the Office of New Drugs at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said, "Repatha provides another treatment option in this new class of drugs for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia or with known cardiovascular disease who have not been able to lower their LDL cholesterol enough with statins."