Ground-breaking collaboration to offer new heart disease drug to NHS patients

The government on Monday announced a collaboration with Novartis to launch a clinical trial for ‘yet to be approved’ drug inclisiran. The drug could benefit thousands of patients at risk of heart disease in coming years. The ground-breaking collaboration includes Novartis, NHS England and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and Oxford University. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) expects this to position the UK as a world-leading destination to develop cutting-edge treatments. Inclisiran, a treatment to lower cholesterol, will be studied in UK patients as part of the large-scale NHS clinical trial expected to start later this year. According to DHSC, early clinical trial results suggest that the drug could help prevent 55,000 heart attacks and strokes if it is given to 300,000 patients annually.