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“This FDA submission marks a milestone for CLL treatment with the potential approval for the first oral combination regimen of VENCLEXTA and acalabrutinib for previously untreated patients with chronic blood cancer. This new fixed-treatment duration approach could allow patients the opportunity for time off treatment, if approved, and be potentially practice-changing in frontline CLL care,” said Svetlana Kobina, vice president, global medical affairs, oncology, AbbVie.

Data presented at the 2024 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting showed that the fixed-duration combination regimen of VENCLEXTA and acalabrutinib reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 35% vs chemoimmunotherapy (HR 0.65; 95% CI: 0.49-0.87; p=0.004). The safety profile of the VENCLEXTA and acalabrutinib combination regimen is consistent with the known safety profile of each individual therapy alone.

VENCLEXTA is being developed by AbbVie and Roche. It is jointly commercialized by AbbVie and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, in the U.S. and by AbbVie outside of the U.S. Venetoclax is approved in more than 80 countries, including the U.S.

Nagpur: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday announced a comprehensive plan to develop the country’s best health services in Maharashtra in the next four years. The initiative aims to provide primary facilities to every person within a 3-kilometre radius.

Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Late Bhanutai Gadkari Memorial Diagnostic Centre here, he said the cost of treatment is going up along with advancements in technology, which highlighted the need to give more people affordable and subsidised care under the government health system.

The Maharashtra government and the Centre are working on this aspect, Fadnavis added.

Also Read:Rs 1000 crore sanctioned to upgrade GMCH, IGGMCH Nagpur: CM Devendra Fadnavis

“A study of health services has shown that the government has developed very good tertiary treatment facilities in Maharashtra, but we are lacking to some extent when it comes to primary health services. If we go by the ratio, then 60 per cent of funds should go to primary health services and 40 per cent to tertiary services,” he said, reports PTI.

If the primary health services are strengthened, then it lessens the load on tertiary services, because 60 to 70 per cent patients get treated for their diseases in the primary health segment, he pointed out.

“The state government has prepared a plan to provide primary health services to every person within a 3-kilometre radius in urban and rural areas. We are developing a network of primary, secondary and tertiary health services. With the help of external aided agencies and the Union government, we will try to establish the best health services in the country in Maharashtra in the next four years,” Fadnavis asserted.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also addressed the event at the Late Bhanutai Gadkari Memorial Diagnostic Centre, which is named after his mother.

Gadkari emphasised that whatever he has achieved and has been able to do in life is because of the blessings and teachings of his mother.

His mother always taught him to serve the poor, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways and local Lok Sabha MP told the gathering.

This diagnostic centre will greatly help the needy and poor since services will be available at very affordable prices, Gadkari informed.

“Through such social initiatives, I learnt that the meaning of politics is not just power politics. I always tell my colleagues that politics is an instrument for social and economic reforms in society,” he said.

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The findings were published online in JACC: Advances on April 30, 2025.

The analysis, based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) collected between 2013 and early 2020, included adults aged 40 to 75 years who had no history of ASCVD, diabetes, or markedly elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C ≥190 mg/dL). All participants had an estimated 10-year ASCVD risk between 7.5% and 20%, categorizing them as having an “intermediate risk” and making them eligible for moderate-intensity statin therapy under current guidelines.

Traditionally dubbed the “good cholesterol,” HDL-C has long been associated with reduced cardiovascular risk. However, emerging research suggests that the functionality of HDL particles, rather than their quantity, may hold greater significance in atherosclerosis. Despite this shift in understanding, the long-held perception of HDL-C as protective may still be influencing clinical decisions.

In the study, Alexander R. Zheutlin, Division of Cardiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA, and colleagues stratified participants by HDL-C levels: low (<40 mg/dL), normal (40–60 mg/dL), and high (≥60 mg/dL).

The key findings of the study were as follows:

• Individuals with high HDL-C levels were significantly less likely to be prescribed statins than those with normal HDL-C levels.
• Those with low HDL-C levels were slightly more likely to receive statin therapy than individuals with normal HDL-C.
• Adjusted analysis showed that high HDL-C was linked to a 15% lower likelihood of statin use.
• Low HDL-C was associated with a modest increase in statin prescriptions.
• The study analyzed data from over 900 participants, representing nearly 23.7 million U.S. adults with intermediate 10-year ASCVD risk.
• No significant interaction was found between sex and HDL-C levels concerning statin use.
• The findings suggest that lower statin use among individuals with high HDL-C may reflect prevailing clinical perceptions rather than evidence-based, sex-specific prescribing patterns.

The authors emphasized that while HDL-C is included in risk assessment models, it is not considered a risk-enhancing factor in current cholesterol guidelines. Both low and excessively high HDL-C levels have been linked to increased ASCVD risk in other studies.

The cross-sectional analysis cannot establish causality but raises important concerns about possible undertreatment among adults with high HDL-C who otherwise qualify for preventive statin therapy. The findings stress the need for improved education around the complex role of HDL-C in cardiovascular health and suggest a reevaluation of how lipid profiles influence statin prescribing in clinical practice.

Reference:

Zheutlin AR, Jacobs JA, Bress AP. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and statin use among U.S. adults with intermediate 10-year predicted ASCVD risk. JACC Adv. 2025; Epub ahead of print.