TORONTO — The experimental drug obicetrapib, a potent oral cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor, significantly slowed Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarker progression over 12 months in patients with cardiovascular disease, new research showed.

Results revealed the drug led to a 20% improvement in levels of phosphorylated tau 217 (p-tau217) — an important indicator of AD pathology — in patients carrying the apolipoprotein E (APOE4) allele. About 65% of people with AD are APOE4 carriers.

The treatment was already shown to reduce LDL cholesterol and increase HDL cholesterol in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) or heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH).

It’s encouraging to have a drug that treats cardiovascular disease and treats or prevents AD, study investigator Philip Scheltens, MD, PhD, professor of neurology and founder of the Alzheimer’s Center, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, told Medscape Medical News.

“The study shows that AD and CVD are closely related, especially with increasing age, and one of the linking pins is APOE4. Lowering LDL cholesterol and mostly increasing HDL cholesterol with obicetrapib seems to have a beneficial effect on AD pathology as measured by the biomarkers,” Scheltens said.

The findings were presented July 30 at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2025