An experimental drug could be game-changing for millions of Americans with a higher genetic risk of cardiovascular disease. In clinical trial data published over the weekend, Eli Lilly’s lepodisiran was found to dramatically reduce people’s levels of a dangerous kind of cholesterol called lipoprotein (a), or Lp (a).

Lilly's drug is one of several being tested to treat high Lp(a), a risk factor for heart disease that affects an estimated 1.4 billion people worldwide, including 64 million people in the U.S.

A new drug may help protect millions of people from heart attacks and strokes by lowering a little-known risk factor in the blood. The drug, made by Eli Lilly and called lepodisiran, lowered levels of a tiny particle called Lp(a) by 94% with a single shot,