Repatha (Evolocumab) for Heart Disease

Overview
Repatha is a prescription medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, and coronary revascularization in adults with heart disease, and as an additional treatment to reduce cholesterol in adults with hereditary high cholesterol (primary hyperlipidemia and homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia). Repatha is also known by its drug name, Evolocumab.

Repatha is an immunomodulator, or in other words, a drug that modulates the immune system. Repatha is a genetically engineered antibody, or protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize substances. It is considered a biologic and is part of a new class of drugs called Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors. Repatha is designed to disable the PCSK9 protein, which reduces the body’s ability to remove bad cholesterol from the blood.

Repatha is believed to work by inactivating PCSK9 proteins so that they don’t interfere with the proteins that capture and breakdown bad cholesterol in the blood.

How do I take it?
Repatha is administered by subcutaneous injection.

Repatha can be taken every two weeks at a lower dose, or once a month at a higher dose depending on the condition Repatha is being used to treat.

Repatha comes in a single-use prefilled syringe, single-use prefilled autoinjector, or single-use on-body infusor.

Side effects
The FDA-approved label for Repatha lists common side effects including runny nose, sore throat, common cold symptoms, flu or flu-like symptoms, back pain, diabetes, and bruising, redness, or pain at injection site.

Rare but serious side effects listed for Repatha include severe allergic reactions.

For more details about this treatment, visit:
Repatha– Amgen
https://www.repatha.com/