Esperion at a Glance

Why Esperion?

Experts from across the healthcare community now recognize what Esperion has championed since its founding in 1998: high-density lipoprotein (HDL) therapy provides a significant opportunity for positively impacting cardiovascular and metabolic health. Esperion was first to demonstrate a novel therapy that reduced the plaque that causes atherosclerosis by improving the amount and effectiveness of HDL in the blood. This finding has generated a great deal of interest from the medical and scientific communities in HDL function as an important pathway for better management of cardiovascular disease. Esperion is now building on that expertise, exploring additional treatment pathways and once again leading the way with its:

• Track record of success
• Focus on unmet medical needs
• Unparalleled expertise and perspective
• Speed and agility

Why Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases?

According to the American Heart Association, 80 million Americans suffer from one or more cardiovascular conditions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls cardiovascular disease the leading cause of death among Americans, and according to the World Health Organization, it will be the leading cause of death in developing countries by 2010. The total cost, including lost productivity, of cardiovascular disease is estimated at nearly $450 billion. With the aging of the U.S. population, cardiovascular disease is one of the few illnesses still on the rise. What's more, experts estimate that 1/4 of the U.S. population now suffers from metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions, including abdominal obesity, abnormal lipid levels, high blood pressure, and elevated blood sugar, that increase the risk of developing heart disease. Not surprisingly, the market for cardiovascular drugs is large and complex. Many of these drugs have been around for years, some are newly launched. Yet people around the world continue to suffer and die from these conditions at alarming rates. Biotechnology holds the key to delivering novel treatments for these conditions. It also offers the potential to detect risk factors before disease strikes and reverse its progression when possible.

Why Healthcare Biotech?

Healthcare biotechnology can be incredibly transformative, with the power to improve health and quality of life in almost unimaginable ways. The rewards for contributing to such life-altering technologies can be great - both financially and through the personal satisfaction earned from improving public health. That's why the biotech industry attracted $25 billion in financing in 2007, according to Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO). Increases in nationwide healthcare spending, advances in medical technology, and substantial unmet need, along with the opportunity to change the world in which we live, continue to make the biotech industry attractive to investors.