Dr. Christie Mitchell Ballantyne, editorial board member for The Texas Heart Institute Journal, and professor of medicine and chief of cardiovascular research at Baylor, was featured by TCTMD.com, produced by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, for his research regarding a new therapy that significantly reduces triglyceride levels in individuals with mixed hyperlipidemia – elevations of triglycerides and cholesterol. The results, published in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, demonstrate how the drug plozasiran works by targeting ApoC3, which is a key regulator of the lipoprotein particles that carry triglyceride and cholesterol remnants versus overall LDL cholesterol levels.

Plozasiran is an RNA interference drug that targets specific RNA molecules in the body that are responsible for the production of APOC3, a key regulator of triglyceride-rich lipoprotein metabolism. High levels of APOC3, caused by genetics or metabolic factors such as diet, obesity and diabetes, slow down the breakdown of triglycerides and, in turn, can lead to cardiovascular disease.

“These results show us that we are headed in the right direction, and more clinical studies in a larger phase 3 program are needed to bring this therapy for public use,” Ballantyne said.

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