Efficacy of alirocumab according to background statin type and dose: pooled analysis of 8 ODYSSEY Phase 3 clinical trials

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) reductions with the PCSK9 monoclonal antibody alirocumab may be affected by background statin dose due to increased PCSK9 levels with higher statin doses. Data from 8 Phase 3 trials conducted with background statin (n = 4629) were pooled by alirocumab dose (75 or 150 mg every 2 weeks) and control (placebo/ezetimibe), and analyzed by background statin type/dose. Overall, 58.4% received high-dose statins (atorvastatin 40–80 mg, rosuvastatin 20–40 mg, simvastatin 80 mg), 28.6% moderate-dose statins (atorvastatin 20–<40 mg, rosuvastatin 10–<20 mg, simvastatin 40–<80 mg), and 12.9% low-dose statins (atorvastatin <20 mg, rosuvastatin <10 mg, simvastatin <40 mg). Mean baseline PCSK9 levels were higher with high versus moderate and low statin doses (318.5 vs 280.6 ng/mL). Baseline LDL-C levels were similar across pools, regardless of statin intensity. No associations were observed between statin type/dose and LDL-C % change from baseline or % of patients achieving LDL-C goals at Week 24 for alirocumab versus control (interaction P-values non-significant). Incidence of adverse events was similar for alirocumab versus control, except for a higher rate of injection-site reactions with alirocumab. In summary, alirocumab provided consistent LDL-C reductions and was generally well tolerated independent of background statin type/dose.