Eli Lilly working on a heart drug that may benefit Indians: CEO David Ricks
Eli Lilly, the world's most-valued drugmaker that seeks to shake up India's lifestyle disease management through its recent introduction of weight-loss injectable Mounjaro, is working on a potential breakthrough that offers hope to millions battling chronic heart ailments in South Asia.
The US drug major's CEO, David Ricks, told ET the drug in research can potentially cut a specific type of cholesterol that is highly prevalent in Indians and South Asians by as much as 85% to 90%.
Eli Lilly, with a market cap of roughly $750 billion, is working on a multitude of treatment modalities with an annual R&D budget that has swelled to $14 billion.
Lilly's research on the heart drug is a significant step given the surge in heart related cases in India. An estimated 64 million Indians were reported to have heart conditions in 2023 and an above-average death rate of 2,720 per million versus the world average of 2,350, according to the World Heart Federation. «Lilly is pursuing an important target for Indians. It is about lowering the LPA (lipoprotein-a) cholesterol particles. Despite the success of statins and other commonly used cholesterol-lowering medications, one particle that is toxic but is not addressed yet is LPA,» Ricks said.
The cholesterol is found to be more prevalent in South Asians than other populations, he said, adding that Eli Lilly has a solution in phase 3 clinical trials. Scientific studies show at least 25% South Asians have an elevated level of LPA.
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