Evolocumab success in YUKAWA-1 trial for patients with High Cardiovascular Risk and High Cholesterol - Amgen

Amgen has announced that the Phase III YUKAWA-2 (StudY of LDL-Cholesterol Reduction Using a Monoclonal PCSK9 Antibody in Japanese Patients With Advanced Cardiovascular Risk) study evaluating evolocumab in combination with statin therapy in Japanese patients with High Cardiovascular Risk and High Cholesterol 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 percent reduction in LDL-C, or "bad" cholesterol, was clinically meaningful, statistically significant, and consistent with the results observed for the same doses in the Phase II YUKAWA trial for evolocumab compared to placebo.

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 YUKAWA-2 trial evaluated safety, tolerability and efficacy of evolocumab compared to placebo in combination with statin therapy in 404 Japanese patients with High Cardiovascular Risk and High Cholesterol. Patients were randomized to one of eight treatment groups to compare subcutaneous evolocumab (140 mg every two weeks or 420 mg monthly) with subcutaneous placebo (every two weeks or monthly) when added to different daily doses of atorvastatin. Safety was balanced across treatment groups. The adverse events (AEs) that occurred in less than 2 percent of the evolocumab combined group were nasopharyngitis, gastroenteritis and pharyngitis. Details of the Phase III YUKAWA-2 study results will be submitted to a future medical conference and for publication.