Swinging for the fences and missed, but how many innings are left?RVX went for a home run with their IVUS study,.and clearly, they didn't hit the ball out of the park.
.
But take a step back and look at what RVX-208 has been shown to do. In both SUSTAIN and ASSURE, RVX-208 raises apoAI and HDL-cholesterol. In SUSTAIN (but no reports either way from ASSURE yet), RVX-208 increases HDL-particle size and does not have any problems with aminotransferases.
.
So what I still see in front of me is an orally available drug (one that is a first in class BET inhibitor) that has been shown in 2 studies now to raise apoAI and HDL. Sure, it didn't pass the IVUS test, but name me ANY orally available drug (not an infusion) that has shown IVUS plaque regression in 6 months? Name me any current orally available drug other than Niacin-derivates or CETP-inhibitors (both of which have failed to show IVUS effects or improved cardiovascular events) that have been shown to raise HDL or apoAI?
.
Clearly, RVX-208 isn't a 6-month wonder drug that will clear your arteries back to the way they were in your teens. But it is still an effective apoAI/HDL modulating therapy that has now passed 2 phase IIb clinical trials. Big Pharma is smart. Big Pharma is paying attention. Big Pharma knows how to read into promising trends and knows that HDL-modulating therapies are still desirable.
.
Let's wait for the conference call likley in early July. Wait for the potential August/September meeting. Wait for SUSTAIN/ASSURE publicaions.
.
Funding for more studies is obviously a barrier. But the bottom line is that this is still an effective HDL-modulating drug that still has therapeutic promise, given a long enough treatement time.
.