Amgen announces NHS collaboration aiming to tackle high cholesterol

Amgen has announced a new partnership with two NHS organisations with the aim of tackling the ‘silent killer’ of high cholesterol across the North West Coast of England.

The partnership with the North West Coast Innovation Agency and Imperial College Health Partners will work to address the health issues caused by high cholesterol in a geographical area that is heavily impacted by heart attacks, strokes and premature deaths caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The two-year programme, ‘Control Cholesterol: Collaborating to Reduce Risk’, will adopt a quality management approach to improve health outcomes for people at high-risk of experiencing CVD event due to raised cholesterol.

Amgen, together with its NHS partners, will work with primary care networks, clinical commissioning groups and GP practices to develop evidence-based solutions to cut costs and improve capacity.

The initiative will use early intervention to support people most at risk of a CVD event, improve care to help them remain healthy and potentially prevent them from suffering a life-threatening heart attack or stroke.

This will be achieved, according to Amgen, by improving pathways for these patients in the primary care setting to ensure they receive appropriate advice and treatment outside the hospital setting.

“As the front line of the NHS, primary care plays a critical role in identifying patients at high risk of suffering cardiovascular events, and ensuring they are appropriately treated or referred on for timely treatment and optimal management,” said Tony Patrikios, executive medical director at Amgen UK and Ireland.

This collaboration brings together the collective scientific expertise, clinical experience, and deep understanding of cardiovascular disease of Amgen and our NHS partners, to provide a meaningful contribution to the NHS in achieving its Long Term Plan ambition of preventing up to 150,000 avoidable cardiovascular events over the next ten years,” he added.