"RVX could market a new improved statin using rosuvastin + Apabetalone.  I was under the impression that statins were used essentially to reduce MACE events.  Adding Apabetalone seems to reduce inflamation that leads to artery build up.  ie - a new improved statin for market domination. At the AGM, Don was whining about educating the world to epigentics.  Could he not market a new improved rouvastatin (statin) with Apabetalone for added efficacy.  People understand statins, and Don would not even have to mention the word epigentics in marketing presentions."

Apabetalone is not a statin and therefore shouldn't be marketed as a "new improved statin." Statins target the HMG-CoA-Reductase enzyme as a competitive inhibitor (competes with the mevalonate pre-cursor to HMG-CoA). This inhibits cellular cholesterol synthesis, resulting in an upregulation of the LDL-receptors on cells that subsequently remove LDL from the circulation. This LDL lowering decreases risk for atherosclerotic disease and reduces incidence of MACE.

Apabetalone inhibits the bromodomain of BET proteins (high selectivity for BD2 of BRD4). This affects the ability of BET proteins to "read" the acetyl-lysines on histones of DNA and affects the transcription of a large number of genes involved in a number of biological pathways that add up to a large cardioprotective benefit. Apabetalone is not an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase and has not been shown to modulate LDL.

In my opinion, there is no getting around the need to market apabetalone for what it is. What it isn't though, is a statin. Maybe the "improved statin formulation" angle is viable. Kind of analogous to Vytorin, which is a statin/ezetimibe combo drug. The statin portion targets your body's ability to make cholesterol and the ezetimibe portion targets your body's ability to absorb cholesterol from the intestine. The two drugs work together to boost the LDL-cholesterol lowering effect. This is more challenging for apabetalone though since it doesn't affect LDL.

Sure is great to be thinking about marketing strategies for apabetalone, isn't it? Probably very different marketing strategies depending upon whether the rosuvastatin/apabetalone combo is shown to be superior to the atorvastatin/apabetalone combo. 

BearDownAZ