An oral, liver-restricted LXR inverse agonist for dyslipidemia: preclinical development and phase 1 trial

Despite advances in lipid-lowering treatment, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality, underscoring the need to address residual risk. Targeting both the synthesis and clearance of triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoproteins is a promising approach. Liver X receptor (LXR) repression can reduce plasma TG and cholesterol and improve insulin sensitivity by suppressing de novo lipogenesis and intestinal lipid absorption and enhancing clearance of TG-rich lipoproteins, but its clinical utility remains unexplored. Here we demonstrate the role of LXR inverse agonists in lipid metabolism and metabolic diseases in preclinical models and humans. Given concerns that systemic LXR repression may impair reverse cholesterol transport, we developed TLC-2716, an orally administered, gut- and liver-restricted LXR inverse agonist. In human liver organoids modeling steatohepatitis, TLC-2716 reduced lipid accumulation and suppressed inflammation and fibrotic gene expression. In a randomized, placebo-controlled phase 1 clinical trial, 14-day treatment with TLC-2716 was well tolerated (primary endpoints) and resulted in placebo-adjusted reductions up to 38.5% in plasma TG and 61% in postprandial remnant cholesterol (secondary endpoints). In conclusion, these results highlight the tolerability and therapeutic potential of TLC-2716 as a treatment for managing dyslipidemia and reducing residual atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk in humans. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05483998 .