Zodasiran for cholesterol and triglyceride lowering in patients with hyperlipidemia: final report of phase 1 basket trial
Summary
Loss-of-function variants in the gene encoding angiopoietin-like protein 3 (ANGPTL3) are associated with decreased triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, as well as with lower cardiovascular risk. Here we describe a 16-week phase 1 trial of zodasiran, an ANGPTL3‑targeting small interfering RNA, in patients on lipid-lowering therapy with either hyperlipidemia (with a placebo control arm) (n = 9; 7 male and 2 female), familial hypercholesterolemia (n = 17; 9 male and 8
Content
# Zodasiran for cholesterol and triglyceride lowering in patients with hyperlipidemia: final report of phase 1 basket trial
*Published: 2026 Apr*
Loss-of-function variants in the gene encoding angiopoietin-like protein 3
(ANGPTL3) are associated with decreased triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein
cholesterol levels, as well as with lower cardiovascular risk. Here we describe
a 16-week phase 1 trial of zodasiran, an ANGPTL3‑targeting small interfering
RNA, in patients on lipid-lowering therapy with either hyperlipidemia (with a
placebo control arm) (n = 9; 7 male and 2 female), familial hypercholesterolemia
(n = 17; 9 male and 8 female) or moderate-to-severe hypertriglyceridemia (n = 6;
4 male and 2 female). Patients received zodasiran subcutaneously on days 1 and
29, followed by a 48-week open-label extension in the familial
hypercholesterolemia cohort (n = 13; 7 male and 6 female) in which zodasiran was
dosed every 12 weeks. No serious treatment-related adverse events, the primary
endpoint of the trial, were observed. Moreover, no elevations in hepatic
aminotransferases, bilirubin or glycated hemoglobin were observed, and there
were no drug discontinuations. All cohorts showed reductions at week 16 (12
weeks postdosing) in serum ANGPTL3 (≤-85.4%) and triglycerides (≤-67.1%), which
were secondary endpoints. Reduction in ANGPTL3 was sustained to
end-of-open-label extension in the familial hypercholesterolemia cohort. These
results indicate a favorable safety profile for zodasiran, with promise for
correcting isolated hypercholesterolemia and moderate-to-severe
hypertriglyceridemia, and support further studies of zodasiran in treating a
wide spectrum of dyslipidemias. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT03747224 .
DOI: 10.1038/s41591-026-04307-8