Esperion Therapeutics Inc. said a combination tablet of its medicine bempedoic acid and the drug ezetimibe helped lower cholesterol levels in patients with both high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes in a phase 2 study.
The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company evaluated a combination of bempedoic acid and cholesterol-lowering drug ezetimibe against ezetimibe alone and placebo in 179 patients with both hypercholesterolemia and type 2 diabetes. The trial, called 1002-058, enrolled patients who were on stable background diabetes medications but were not on statin therapy — a common type of drug that lowers cholesterol.
Hypercholesterolemia is a condition characterized by high levels of cholesterol in the blood. Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which the body either resists the effects of insulin — a hormone that regulates the movement of sugar in the cells — or does not produce enough insulin to maintain normal glucose levels.
![]() |
Esperion said that after 12 weeks of treatment, the combination of bempedoic acid and ezetimibe met the primary and key secondary goals of the phase 2 trial.
The company said in an Aug. 29 press release that the drug combination significantly lowered low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or LDL-C, by 40% compared to placebo. The drug combination also achieved LDL-C, also known as bad cholesterol, levels of less than 70 milligrams per deciliter and an LDL-C reduction of more than 50% in about 40% of patients.
The bempedoic acid and ezetimibe combination tablet also reduced high-sensitivity C-reactive protein — a marker of inflammation associated with cardiovascular disease — by 25%. Esperion added that the drug combination also showed no worsening of blood sugar levels in the patients. Patients also had no increase in liver function tests.
Adverse events were reported in 43% of patients receiving the bempedoic acid and ezetimibe combination medicine, in 30% of patients receiving ezetimibe, and in 37% of patients on placebo. No serious adverse events were reported in the patients receiving the drug combination.
Esperion President and CEO Tim Mayleben said the results build upon data from a phase 3 study of the drug combination in patients at a high risk of heart attack, where the majority of patients were on background statin therapy. Mayleben added that the company's once-daily, oral therapies could become a cost-effective treatment option for people with high cholesterol levels.
Another phase 3 trial previously showed that bempedoic acid helped lower the cholesterol levels of patients at high risk of having a heart attack.
Esperion is seeking U.S. and EU approvals of bempedoic acid alone and in combination with ezetimibe to treat patients with elevated LDL-C who need to further lower their cholesterol levels despite standard therapy.
Daiichi Sankyo Europe GmbH has licensed exclusive commercialization rights to the bempedoic acid pill and bempedoic acid-ezetimibe combination tablet in certain European countries.

