Amgen recently reported that the phase III GAUSS-2 (Goal Achievement After Utilizing an Anti-PCSK9 Antibody in Statin Intolerant Subjects-2) trial evaluating evolocumab in patients with high cholesterol who cannot tolerate statins has met its co-primary endpoints: the percent reduction from baseline in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) at week 12 and the mean percent reduction from baseline in LDL-C at weeks 10 and 12. The mean percent reductions in LDL-C, or "bad" cholesterol, compared to ezetimibe were consistent with results observed in the phase II GAUSS study.

Evolocumab is an investigational fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a protein that reduces the liver's ability to remove LDL-C from the blood.

The GAUSS-2 trial evaluated safety, tolerability and efficacy of evolocumab in 307 patients with high cholesterol who could not tolerate effective doses of at least two different statins due to muscle-related side effects. Patients were randomized to one of four treatment groups: subcutaneous evolocumab 140 mg every two weeks and oral placebo daily; subcutaneous evolocumab 420 mg monthly and oral placebo daily; subcutaneous placebo every two weeks and oral ezetimibe 10 mg daily; or subcutaneous placebo monthly and oral ezetimibe 10 mg daily.

Safety was generally balanced across treatment groups. The most common adverse events (> 5 percent in evolocumab combined group) were headache (7.8 percent evolocumab; 8.8 percent ezetimibe), myalgia (7.8 percent evolocumab; 17.6 percent ezetimibe), pain in extremity (6.8 percent evolocumab; 1.0 percent ezetimibe), and muscle spasms (6.3 percent evolocumab; 3.9 percent ezetimibe).

"We are pleased to continue to see promising results from the phase III studies in our comprehensive development program for evolocumab," said Sean E Harper, MD, executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. "The positive GAUSS-2 results suggest that evolocumab may offer a new lipid-lowering treatment to meet an important medical need for high-risk patients who cannot tolerate effective doses of statins."

Data from the phase II GAUSS-2 trial will be submitted to a future medical conference and for publication.

PROFICIO, which stands for the Programme to Reduce LDL-C and Cardiovascular Outcomes Following Inhibition of PCSK9 In Different POpulations, is a large and comprehensive clinical trial programme evaluating evolocumab. Phase III clinical trials for evolocumab are currently underway and build upon the phase II studies.

The phase III programme includes 13 trials, with a combined planned enrollment of more than 28,000 patients. The phase III studies will evaluate evolocumab administered every two weeks and monthly in multiple patient populations, including in combination with statins in patients with hyperlipidemia (LAPLACE-2), in patients with hyperlipidemia who cannot tolerate statins (GAUSS-2), as a stand-alone treatment in patients with hyperlipidemia (MENDEL-2), and in patients whose elevated cholesterol is caused by genetic disorders called heterozygous (RUTHERFORD-2) and homozygous (TESLA and TAUSSIG) familial hypercholesterolemia.

Five studies of evolocumab will provide long-term safety and efficacy data. These include FOURIER (Further Cardiovascular OUtcomes Research with PCSK9 Inhibition in Subjects with Elevated Risk), which will assess whether treatment with evolocumab in combination with statin therapy compared to placebo and statin therapy reduces recurrent cardiovascular events in approximately 22,500 patients with cardiovascular disease, DESCARTES (Durable Effect of PCSK9 Antibody CompARed wiTh PlacEbo Study) in patients with hyperlipidemia at risk for cardiovascular disease, and GLAGOV (GLobal Assessment of Plaque ReGression with a PCSK9 AntibOdy as Measured by IntraVascular Ultrasound), which will determine the effect of evolocumab on coronary atherosclerosis in approximately 950 patients undergoing cardiac catheterization.

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