Effect of alirocumab dose increase on LDL lowering and lipid goal attainment in patients with dyslipidemia

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to report the dose response in ODYSSEY phase 3 clinical trials of proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 inhibition with alirocumab in patients not at prespecified lipid goals who received a per-protocol dose increase from 75 every 2 weeks (Q2W) to 150 mg Q2W. METHODS: Patients (n=2181) receiving statins were enrolled in six phase 3 randomized, double-blind, double-dummy trials (24–104 weeks): alirocumab versus placebo or ezetimibe 10 mg/day. The 75 mg subcutaneous Q2W dose was increased to 150 mg at week 12 if week 8 LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) was greater than or equal to 70 mg/dl (>100 mg/dl in OPTIONS studies for patients without previous coronary heart disease, but with other risk factors). LDL-C percentage reductions from baseline (on-treatment data, n=1291) were compared at week 12 versus week 24. RESULTS: Most patients (n=951; 73.7%) with 75 mg Q2W dose plus background statin achieved LDL-C less than 70 or less than 100 mg/dl at week 8. In 340 (26.3%) patients, alirocumab dose was increased to 150 mg Q2W at week 12, and 60.9% of these patients achieved LDL-C goals at week 24, with an additional 14.2% reduction in LDL-C from week 12 to week 24. Adverse event rates were comparable in patients with versus without a dose increase (72.4 vs. 71.8% in placebo-controlled trials; 67.0 vs. 67.6% in ezetimibe-controlled trials). CONCLUSION: Most patients achieved LDL-C goals with alirocumab 75 mg Q2W plus statins. Of those (26.3%) receiving a dose increase, 60.9% achieved LDL-C goals at week 24 with an additional 14.2% reduction in LDL-C.