Singapore, May 29 -- The Victorian Heart Hospital and the Victorian Heart Institute will lead a first-in-human clinical trial of a new investigational genetic therapy that aims to lower cholesterol in people at increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

The Victorian Heart Hospital, operated by Monash Health in partnership with Monash University, Australia, will be the first clinical trial site globally to begin testing the investigational therapy STX-1150, developed by Scribe Therapeutics.

The therapy is designed to reduce LDL ('bad') cholesterol by targeting a gene in the liver called PCSK9, a well-established regulator of cholesterol levels and cardiovascular risk. Elevated LDL cholesterol is a major cause of atherosclerotic cardiovas...