Australia's CSL is steadfastly sticking by its experimental cholesterol drug, CSL-111, despite its announcement that the therapy had failed a primary goal of reducing arterial plaque by a statistically significant margin. Researchers believe that by raising HDL, or good cholesterol, they can reduce plaque. The 183-patient, Phase II study did demonstrate a reduction in plaque on an absolute basis, though that wasn't big enough to reach its goal. But several doctors who had a chance to study the results noted that the data nevertheless looked promising, noting that the trial was small and patients were limited to only four infusions. CSL and its researchers stayed focus on the up side and its stock rose slightly after the results were announced.
"Overall, these results strongly suggest that CSL-111 is biologically active, and that short term infusions of CSL-111 result in a rapid, favorable effect on coronary atherosclerotic plaque," said Jean-Claude Tardif, M.D., of the Montreal Heart Institute, University of Montreal, and lead author of the study. "These data strongly support the conduct of further clinical studies to assess whether CSL-111 will provide a clinical benefit to patients with ACS."
- check out this release for more information
- and read the report on CSL