Abstract

In 1971, Dr. Akira Endo succeeded in isolating a cholesterol synthesis inhibitor, compactin. Later, compactin was renamed mevastatin, meaning that it stops the synthesis of mevalonate, which is considered the first statin. However, mevastatin is not commercially released, whereas lovastatin, developed by Alfred Albert of Merk in 1979, was the first commercially developed statin. After the 4S study, the first largescale clinical trial with statins conducted in Scandinavia showed a dramatic secondary preventive effect against cardiovascular disease, and the effectiveness of statins in patients with dyslipidemia was repeatedly demonstrated. Subsequently, many oral drugs that affect blood lipid concentration; statins and ezetimibe aimed at reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL)) cholesterol; fibrates and omega 3 formulations aimed at reducing triglycerides were widely developed and used in Korea. In this article, we review the results of clinical studies on representative cardiovascular diseases for four types of oral drugs for dyslipidemia, which are currently the most commonly used in Korea.