Bempedoic acid – an efficient and safe lipid-lowering treatment in the light of the latest findings
Authors:
Šárka Tesařová; Michal Vrablík
Authors‘ workplace:
III. interní klinika – endokrinologie a metabolismu 1. LF UK a VFN v Praze
Published in:
AtheroRev 2025; 10(2): 83-88
Category:
Reviews
Overview
Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (ASCVD) remain the main cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries all around the world. Hypercholesterolemia/dyslipidemia is the major influenceable risk factor. Although there was significant development of lipid-lowering therapy in the last few years, almost two thirds of patients don´t reach recommended lipid levels. Statins keep their unsheakable position among all the options of lipid-lowering therapy. Until recently there was not available sufficiently effective alternative for those patients who have statin intolerance/contraindication of statin therapy and at the same time they are not qualified for PCSK9 inhibitor or inclisiran therapy. Bempedoic acid has brought major breakthrough, it decreases endogenous synthesis of cholesterol with liver-specific effect, so the risk of muscle side effects is minimized. Bempodoic acid decreases level of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and due to that incidence of cardiovascular (CV) events as well. At the end of this article there are current indications and criteria of reimbursement.
Keywords:
Hypercholesterolemia – bempedoic acid – dyslipidemia – statin intolerance – ATP-citrate lyase inhibitor
Sources
Penson PE, Pirro M, Banach M. LDL-C: lower is better for longer-even at low risk. BMC Med 2020; 18(1): 320. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12916–020–01792–7>.
Penson P, McGowan M, Banach M. Evaluating bempedoic acid for the treatment of hyperlipidaemia. Expert Opin Investig Drugs 2017; 26(2): 251–259. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13543784.2017.1280458>.
Pinkosky SL, Newton RS, Day EA et al. Liver-specific ATP-citrate lyase inhibition by bempedoic acid decreases LDL-C and attenuates atherosclerosis. Nat Commun 2016; 7 : 13457. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13457>.
Nissen SE, Lincoff AM, Brennan D et al. Bempedoic acid and cardiovascular outcomes in statin-intolerant patients. N Engl J Med 2023; 388(15): 1353–1364. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2215024>.
Goldberg AC, Leiter LA, Stroes ESG et al. Effect of Bempedoic Acid vs Placebo Added to Maximally Tolerated Statins on Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Patients at High Risk for Cardiovascular Disease: The CLEAR Wisdom Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA 2019; 322(18): 1780–1788. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.16585>.
Menon V, Bloedon L, Li M et al. Impact of adjunctive lipid-modifying therapy in the Clear Outcomes trial. J Clin Lipidol 2025; 19: e93. Dostupné z DOI: <https://10.1016/j.jacl.2025.04.133>.
Caklili OT, Rizzo M, Cesur M. Efficacy and Safety of Bempedoic Acid in Patients with High Cardiovascular Risk: An Update. Curr Vasc Pharmacol 2024; 22(4): 242–250. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/0115701611290763240126045433>.
Laugs U, Banach M, Mancini GJ et al. Efficacy and safety of bempedoic acid in patients with hypercholesterolemia and statin intolerance. JAHA 2019; 8(7): e011662. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.118.011662>.
Leiter LA, Banach M, Catapano AL et al. Bempedoic acid in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, prediabetes and normoglycaemia: A post hoc analysis of efficacy and glycaemic control using pooled data from phase 3 clinical trials. Diabetes Obes Metab 2022; 24(5): 868–880. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/dom.14645>.
Nissen SE, Lincoff AM, Brennan D et al. Bempedoic acid and cardiovascular outcomes in statin-intolerant patients. N Engl J Med 2023; 388(15): 1353–1364. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2215024>.
[American Diabetes Association]. 10. Cardiovascular Disease and Risk Management: Standards of Care in Diabetes – 2025. Diabetes Care 2025; 48(1 Suppl 1): S207-S238. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.2337/dc25-S010>.
Bays HE, Banach M, Catapano AL et al. Bempedoic acid safety analysis: Pooled data from four phase 3 clinical trials. J Clin Lipidol 2020; 14(5): 649–659e6. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacl.2020.08.009>.
Bays HE, Bloedon LT, Lin G et al. Safety of bempedoic acid in patients at high cardiovascular risk and with statin intolerance. J Clin Lipidol 2024; 18(1): e59-e69. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacl.2023.10.011>.
Mukherjee D, Nicholls SJ, Lincoff AM et al. Efficacy and safety of bempedoic acid in patients ≥ 75 years: Analysis of Clear Outcomes. JACC 2025; 85(12 Suppl): 2631–2631.
Drexel H, Mader A. Bempedoic Acid: How Will It Shape the Future Lipid-Lowering Landscape? Mode of Action, Evidence, and Clinical Use. Cardiology 2024; 149(1): 71–77. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1159/000535372>.
Ballantyne CM, Laufs U, Ray KK et al. Bempedoic acid plus ezetimibe fixed-dose combination in patients with hypercholesterolemia and high CVD risk treated with maximally tolerated statin therapy. Eur J Prev Cardiol 2020; 27(6): 593–603. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2047487319864671>.
Mach F, Koskinas KC, Roeters van Lennep JE et al. [ESC/EAS Scientific Document Group]. 2025 Focused Update of the 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias. Eur Heart J 2025; ehaf190. Dostupné z DOI: <https://doi: 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf190>.
Nussbaumerová B. [Bempedoic acid – a practical review]. Kyselina bempedoová – praktický pohled. Vnitř Lék 2025; 71(2): 119–123. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.36290/vnl.2025.020>.
Tůmová E, Vrablík M. Kyselina bempedoová v kontextu současných možností hypolipidemické léčby a výsledků studie CLEAR OUTCOMES. AtheroRev 2023; 8(2): 85–94.
Cicero AFG, Fogacci F, Hernandez AV et al. Lipid, Blood Pressure Meta-Analysis Collaboration Group and the International Lipid Expert Panel. Efficacy and safety of bempedoic acid for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS Med 2020; 17(7): e1003121. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003121>.
Mach F, Baigent C, Catapano AL et al. ESC Scientific Document Group 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias: lipid modification to reduce cardiovascular risk. Eur Heart J 2020; 41(1): 111–188. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz455>. Erratum in Corrigendum to: 2019 ESC/EAS Guidelines for the management of dyslipidaemias: lipid modification to reduce cardiovascular risk. Eur Heart J 2020; 41(44): 4255. Dostupné z DOI: <http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz826>.
Čilíková K. Kyselina bempedoová – nový hráč na poli hypolipidemické léčby. [Bempedoic acid – a new player in the field of hypolipidemic therapy]. AtheroRev 2024; 9(2): 96–102.
Labels
Angiology Diabetology Internal medicine Cardiology General practitioner for adultsArticle was published in
Athero Review
2025 Issue 2
- Advances in the Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis on the Horizon
- Memantine in Dementia Therapy – Current Findings and Possible Future Applications
- Memantine Eases Daily Life for Patients and Caregivers
- Possibilities of Using Metamizole in the Treatment of Acute Primary Headaches
- Metamizole at a Glance and in Practice – Effective Non-Opioid Analgesic for All Ages
-
All articles in this issue
- Editorial
- Bempedoic acid – an efficient and safe lipid-lowering treatment in the light of the latest findings
- Factors influencing hypolipidemic treatment of patients after acute coronary syndrome, ischemic stroke, and transient ischemic attack in cardiological and neurological outpatient care in Slovakia
- Fats and oils from the perspective of scientific studies, the media and the internet
- Evinacumab in the treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia: data from real-world clinical practice and case report
- Effect of once-weekly semaglutide on functional capacity in patients with peripheral arterial disease and type 2 diabetes: results from the STRIDE study
- Coronary events are preventable – so don't miss this opportunity: case report
- Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) – the current challenges for its management
- Where does the Czech Republic have a head start, and where does it need to catch up? International Summit on Lipoprotein(a) – Brussels, March 2025
- Research on remarkable articles from international literature
- XXXIXth conference on hyperlipoproteinemias – Šobraʼs Day 2025
- Athero Review
- Journal archive
- Current issue
- About the journal
Most read in this issue
- Coronary events are preventable – so don't miss this opportunity: case report
- Bempedoic acid – an efficient and safe lipid-lowering treatment in the light of the latest findings
- Factors influencing hypolipidemic treatment of patients after acute coronary syndrome, ischemic stroke, and transient ischemic attack in cardiological and neurological outpatient care in Slovakia
- Fats and oils from the perspective of scientific studies, the media and the internet