Overview

Incorporated in February 2005 and headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals is a specialty pharmaceutical company focusing on the development and commercialization of promising therapeutics to treat cardiovascular / metabolic disease.  Our initial emphasis will be on hyperlipidemia.  Our lead products are microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) inhibitors that have demonstrated significant LDL lowering activity in man. 

This class of compound possesses a dual-mechanism of action influencing the production of VLDL in the liver and chylomicrons in the intestine which represent the packaging and transport of cholesterol and triglycerides in the body and are the precursors to atherogenic particles, such as LDL.  The result of administering the compound is a clear dose dependant reduction in levels of LDL and triglycerides.  This has been demonstrated in man with each of our lead compounds having been tested in over 150 patients.  Historically developed as a competitor to statin therapy, we seek to utilize this effective compound at lower doses as a complement to these and other existing therapies.

Cholesterol lowering therapeutics represents one of the largest markets in the Pharmaceutical Industry, with annual worldwide revenues of approximately $ 28 billion.  However, there remains significant unmet clinical need in the cholesterol market, as recent clinical trials have demonstrated that more aggressive LDL lowering, i.e. to LDL levels well below 100 mg/dL have produced additional clinical benefits.  Existing agents, even at maximal doses, are only able to achieve LDL levels ≤ 70 mg/dl in 50 – 60% of high-risk patients (Footnote to be added).  Additionally, there are patients with severe hypercholesterolemia where even maximal doses of traditional therapies do not provide adequate reductions in LDL-C. There are few new LDL lowering agents in development.  Therefore, MTPI individually and in combination with existing therapies potentially represents a new therapeutic approach for hyperlipidemia for many patients who are at high risk or for very high risk of cardiovascular disease.  Recent guidelines suggest as many as 30 million people in the US alone are at high risk for cardiovascular disease.

Aegerion is actively seeking additional in-licensing opportunities in the cardiovascular / metabolic therapeutic areas, to capitalize on the experience and expertise of the management team.