List date(s) this work was published or aired.
26-Aug-11
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Our story brings to public view, through the eyes of their discovers, an emerging new class of cholesterol drugs with potential to become the most important new treatments for preventing heart attacks and stroke since since statins were introduced in the 1970’s. Many of the world’s largest drugmakers are racing to develop the medicines, which work by blocking a protein called PCSK9 that was virtually unknown barely a decade ago. Researchers in Montreal, Dallas and New York describe how they, working independently but sharing their findings with one another, zoned in on the obscure gene behind PCSK9 in the late 1990’s and gradually deciphered its function. Senior drug executives, seizing on the findings of these researchers, describe the protein as one of the most interesting in the body and are testing drugs that block it, and thereby lower cholesterol levels by 50 percent or more. French pharmaceuticals firm Sanofi and its U.S. partner, Regeneron, expect their injectable 0product to be one of the biggest successes in biotechnology, if no serious safety issues emerge in ongoing late-stage trials.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Telephone interviews with researchers, academics and drug company executives, combine with reviews of peer-reviewed medical journals accessed through the Internet.
Explain types of human sources used.
Telephone interviews with researchers, academics and drug company executives, combine with reviews of peer-reviewed medical journals accessed through the Internet.
Results:
The experimental new class of anti-PCSK9 medicines have become the increasing focus of news articles and Wall Street analyses as they advance through clinical trials and move closer to possible commercialization.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
n/a
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Be so lucky as to have a supportive editor for such a time-consuming endeavor.