Amgen's Repatha Cuts Mortality by 20% in High-Risk Cardiovascular Patients

Amgen's cholesterol-lowering drug Repatha has shown significant promise in reducing mortality rates among high-risk cardiovascular patients. According to a landmark Phase 3 trial, Repatha reduced all-cause mortality by 20% when added to statins or other LDL-C-lowering treatments. The VESALIUS-CV trial tracked over 12,000 high-risk adults for a median of 4.6 years and found that survival curves between the Repatha and control arms began separating at around 1.5 years into the study.

Amgen is positioning the data as evidence that PCSK9 inhibitors can lower all-cause mortality in primary-prevention populations, a claim that has been lacking in clinical trials until now. The European Commission approved an expanded indication for Repatha in August 2026, allowing its use in adults with established or high atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk to lower LDL-C.

The trial's findings have significant commercial and clinical implications for Amgen's broader cardiovascular portfolio, particularly in light of regulatory wins in the US and EU. Paul Burton, chief medical officer at Amgen, emphasized that earlier intensive lipid-lowering therapy with Repatha can profoundly protect high-risk patients. Jay Bradner, head of R&D, AI and Data at Amgen, described the mortality findings as 'practice-changing' given cardiovascular disease remains the leading global cause of death.