LONDON, UK - Apr 4, 2014 - It is well-known that lowering bad cholesterol, LDL, can significantly decrease your chance of heart attack and stroke. It was estimated that over Six million Britons have been prescribed statins to lowering bad cholesterol. However, there are some side effects in taking statins in some people. A new medicine, called PCSK9 inhibitor is on the horizon which could help those unable to use statin to lower the bad cholesterol. Currently several anti-PCSK9 antibodies are undergoing Phase II/III trails in patients with hypercholesterolemia with very promising results. RNAi-based PCSK9 inhibition is also showing a promising results. However, developing novel compounds that inhibit PCSK9 function is pharmaceutically preferred over both antibody and siRNA routes.  London Biotech Ltd has recently developed a cell-based, functional high throughput assay, identifying a chemical hit, Colchicine, which is original isolated from a native British Autumn crocus, otherwise known as "meadow saffron" or "naked lady". The drug has been used previously to treated acute gout for over 1,500 years. Identification of it as a modulator of  PCSK9 function highlights the potential of the novel use of this drug for cardiovascular disease treatment. The result is just published in a peer-reviewed open access journal:

Journal of Bioequivalence & Bioavailability5 (2013): 248-252. doi: 10.4172/jbb.10000168.