Developing an oral medicine to lower cholesterol
Executing the IND-Enabling Studies for Oral PCSK9/LDLR antagonist
This project is working to create a new oral medicine that helps lower high cholesterol, especially for people who don't respond well to current treatments like statins.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Shifa Biomedical Corporation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Malvern, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11164706 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Many people struggle with high cholesterol, which is a major cause of heart disease, and some don't get enough help from existing medicines like statins. This project aims to develop a new oral medication that works differently to lower cholesterol. It focuses on a protein called PCSK9, which plays a key role in how your body handles cholesterol. By targeting PCSK9, this new medicine could help your body remove more bad cholesterol from your blood. The current work involves preclinical studies to prepare this new medicine for testing in people.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates would be individuals with high LDL-cholesterol who are not sufficiently responsive to statins, are statin intolerant, or have familial hypercholesterolemia.
Not a fit: Patients whose high cholesterol is well-managed by existing treatments or those without high cholesterol would not directly benefit from this specific new medication.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this new oral medicine could offer a much-needed treatment option for patients with high cholesterol who cannot take statins or whose cholesterol is not adequately controlled by them.
How similar studies have performed: Injectable PCSK9 inhibitors have already shown success in lowering cholesterol, but this project aims to develop a novel oral version, which is a new approach for this class of drugs.
Where this research is happening
Malvern, United States
- Shifa Biomedical Corporation — Malvern, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Elshourbagy, Nabil a — Shifa Biomedical Corporation
- Study coordinator: Elshourbagy, Nabil a
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.