The vaccine will target fat in the arteries
A revolutionary new product to reduce the fat in arteries is expected to be here in the next five years.
The drug, which can be administered by injection or nasal spray, will help in the prevention of heart attacks.
Current treatment involves medication that reduces cholesterol and blood pressure.
The vaccine can cut the build up of fat in arteries by up to 70 per cent, according to tests by researchers at Lund University in Sweden. The fatty deposits cause arteries to narrow, meaning the body has to work harder to pump blood, and can lead to a heart attack.
A trial on 144 heart disease sufferers is under way in the US and Canada.
The British Heart Foundation medical director Prof Peter Weissberg said the vaccine was “very promising”.
There are at least 2.7 million Britons with heart disease, costing the NHS £3billion a year.
The new vaccine – or nasal spray – could be licensed within five years, the Frontiers in CardioVascular Biology conference in London was told.
Lund University’s Prof Jan Nilsson, said: “The antibody therapy is likely to be expensive so you could probably only afford to give it to people at high risk rather than everyone.”
Tagged in Heart Health Therapy University