A first in India: Zydus brings new drug for uncontrolled 'bad' cholesterol

Uncontrolled LDL-c, which poses a major risk of cardiovascular diseases, lacked proper treatment despite patients' lifestyle changes and use of statins

For the first time in India, Zydus Lifesciences Ltd. (formerly Cadila Healthcare Ltd) has launched a new class of drug 'Bemdac' to treat uncontrolled low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c).

With uncontrolled LDL-c posing a major risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, the same was lacking proper treatment despite patients' life-style modifications and use of maximum tolerated dose of statins. However, now addressing the pressing healthcare need, the oral drug Bemdac will offer a new line of treatment for patients from uncontrolled levels of LDL-c.

Often referred to as bad cholesterol since it gets deposited in the walls of the blood vessels, LDL-c increases the chances of health problems such as heart attack or stroke.

Uncontrolled LDL-c currently leads to imbalance of lipids including cholesterol, LDL-c, triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), commonly known as dyslipidemia. Citing various studies, Zydus Lifesciences on Friday stated that eight out of 10 Indians are dyslipidemic and 112 million adults suffer from high levels of LDL-c.

Moreover, seven out of 10 dyslipidemia patients who are on statin treatment continue to suffer from uncontrolled LDL-c. Besides, 5.4 million Indians are found to be intolerant to statin therapy. However, Bemdac's Bempedoic acid has also shown to have good results in patients not able to tolerate statins and those who do not respond to statins.

With Zydus already having several leading brands to address cardiac care and dyslipidemia including Atorva, Clopitorva, Zyrova and Pivasta, Bemdac is now an important addition to the company's portfolio of medicines for managing dyslipidemia and cholesterol, said Zydus Lifesciences' managing director Dr. Sharvil Patel.

For instance, the company’s brand Atorva is a leader in the Atorvastatin market with a market share of 18.4 per cent, ranking second in terms of market share in the Rs 2162 crore statin segment, based on AWACS Report of February 2022.