Saroglitazar: the World’s First Drug for Treating Diabetic Dyslipidemia

Diabetic dyslipidemia is a condition in which a person is diabetic and has elevated levels of the total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and the triglycerides and decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) concentration in the blood [1]. In 2013, 382 million people have diabetes worldwide, and it is projected to be 592 million by 2035 [2]. In any given country across the world, India has been known to have the largest number of diabetic people [3]. Estimates put forth by the WHO reveals that about 32 million people in India were presenting with diabetes in the year 2000, which has been projected to rise to 80 million by 2030 [4]. World over, it is estimated that 30% of all deaths occur due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). In India, one out of every five persons is at serious risk of developing CVD. Research has shown that diabetes is one of the major risk factors for CVD. India has a Population of nearly 65 million diabetics and 77 million pre-diabetics. 85 – 97 per cent of the diabetes patients suffer from dyslipidemia or lipid abnormalities [5]. Hence, addressing the problem of diabetes and dyslipidemia is crucial in tackling the health risk posed by CVD. The lipid changes associated with diabetes mellitus are attributed to increased free fatty acid flux secondary to insulin resistance (Figure 1). Optimal levels of LDL-C for adults with diabetes are <100 mg/dL, triglycerides are <150 mg/dL and HDL-C ≥40 mg/dL [6]. Although advances made in the prevention and management of cardiovascular disease, people with diabetes mellitus continue to have alarmingly high morbidity and mortality secondary to cardiovascular disease [7]. Epidemiologic studies make evident that diabetes mellitus is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and that it amplifies the effects of other common risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia [8,9]. The Framingham Heart Journal of Comprehensive Pharmacy