I think the disaster of the CETP inhibitors has been a major factor in suppressing interest in all HDL-raising drugs, and this has greatly impacted apabetalone as it started out as one. CETP inhibitors were always a huge gamble, based on a naive and simplistic approach that took no account of the fact that HDL biochemistry is much more complex and less understood than LDL. From the very outset, lipidologists were in two camps. There were those who thought that, as the drugs were available and no other HDL-raising drugs had been discovered, it was a worth a try. And there were those who felt from day 1 the approach was seriously flawed and not based on solid science, a genuine gamble that could turn the clock back on all HDL drug development. The second lot of course were right! Excellent review here - 

https://f1000research.com/articles/3-124/v1