Sanofi SA Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Amgen Inc

advisory committee: On Wednesday, the advisory committee will discuss a second drug in the same class, evolocumab from Amgen Inc, according to CNN. The drugs represent the most important new class of cholesterol-lowering medications since the first statin was approved in 1987. The agency will likely follow the advisory committee advice when it decides whether to approve the drug, alirocumab from Sanofi SA and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., for patients later this summer. Seven statins are available in the United States, including Zocor, Lipitor and Crestor. Elliott Antman, president of the American Heart Association. New guidelines may put 13 million more on statins The new drugs are a "powerful new way of lowering the bad form of cholesterol, and that has profound implications in dealing with the burden of vascular disease," which can lead to heart attacks and stroke, said Dr. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.