News Summary

• Inflammation has long been implicated in cardiovascular disease, but only recently has it become a target that can be identified — and potentially treated — in individual patients.
• Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide, leading to 900,000 deaths each year in the USA alone.
• Up to 50% of residual cardiovascular risk in patients being treated with statins may be due to inflammation.
• The most advanced of these is Novo Nordisk’s ziltivekimab, a monoclonal antibody directed against the inflammatory cytokine IL-6.