US FDA nod for 1st pill to replace jabs to fight high cholesterol

Representative imageNEW DELHI: Patients with difficult-to-control high cholesterol could soon have an oral alternative to cholesterol-lowering injections after US Food and Drug Administration approved the world's first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, a class of medicines that dramatically lowers "bad" cholesterol.The tablet, Lipfendra, has been approved for adults with high cholesterol, including those with an inherited condition called heterozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia.However, the drug is not expected to be available in India immediately. "Even if a medicine is approved abroad, it cannot be marketed in India automatically... it must obtain approval from CDSCO... which may include clinical trials as required under Indian regulations," said Dr Subhash Mandal, national general secretary, In