BSc (hons), MBChB, FRCP (Lon), FRCP (Ed),
MD, MPhil (Cantab), FACC, FESC, FAHA, FMedSci
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Professor of Public Health
Prof. Kausik Ray
One of the most pre-eminent preventative cardiologists in the world, with over 180,000 citations for my research and over 400 publications in top-quality peer-reviewed journals, I am the Professor of Public Health and Honorary Cardiologist at Imperial College London and Immediate Past President of the European Atherosclerosis Society and have been elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (FMedSci).
Announcements
31st March 2025
Solbinisiran
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At the ACC in 2016 I presented the first ever Phase 2 data for an siRNA (inclisiran) for cholesterol-lowering. ORION-1 was published in the NEJM and in 4 years we went on to publish the Phase 3 trials. Now that twice yearly therapy is available in over 60 countries. In 2016 there was amazement but concerns about something new. Today we accept this as the norm.
On Monday 31st March at 09.45 at ACC 2025 it was my privilege to present the Phase 2 data for another sIRNA: another lipid-lowering ANGPTL3 called Solbinsiran, for people with mixed dyslipidaemia (published in both JACC and the Lancet). It has been a true privilege to lead the development of two different siRNA therapies.
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JACC The Lancet​
24th March 2025
First ever Lp(a) Global Summit
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Today, on International Lp(a) awareness day, an international task force has been convened in Brussels to bring together experts, policymakers, and patient advocates to finally put Lp(a) on the global agenda and push forward better policies, research, and care.
The key outcome of the Summit is a high-level political document - the Brussels Declaration on Lp(a) - outlining specific actions the global community is calling on governments and policymakers to take in order to make Lp(a) testing and management a reality.
I have the honour of being included in this one of the top 50 experts in attendance and will be speaking about persistent barriers to testing and solutions.
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Lp(a) Global Summit webpage Speaker flyer
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16th December 2024
EAS Presidency comes to a close
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As 2024 comes to a close, it also marks the end of my time as President of the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS). The past four years have been an extraordinary journey - filled with growth, challenges, and unwavering and shared commitment to the EAS mission. I am deeply thankful for the opportunities I've had to work alongside so many of my EAS colleagues, for the hard work we put in together, and for all we achieved together. Please read my full Review of 2024 here:
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19th November 2024
Top 0.1% of world's researchers for 7th consecutive year
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Each year, Clarivate identifies the world’s most influential researchers ─ the select few who have been most frequently cited by their peers over the last decade. In 2024, fewer than 7,000, or about 0.1%, of the world's researchers, in 21 research fields and across multiple fields, have earned this exclusive distinction.
I have the immense pleasure in confirming I am among this elite group recognized for my exceptional research influence, demonstrated by the production of multiple highly-cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science.
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22nd March 2024
Bempedoic Acid: FDA and EMA approval
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I am very excited to announce that Bempedoic Acid, an oral cholesterol-lowering medication, has been approved by both the European Medicines Agency and the Food and Drug Administration for prevention of cardiovascular disease. This follows our pivotal work in the CLEAR OUTCOMES trial with multiple key publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet Diabetes, JAMA and JAMA Cardiology. This medication is particularly useful for those who cannot tolerate statins, or for those who require more than one cholesterol-lowering medication to achieve targets. This is the first oral cholesterol-lowering drug to be approved globally in a decade and is absolutely great news for patients.
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1st September 2023
Australian plan...
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I was recently invited by the Australian Minister for Health to participate in the Australian Government's Targeted Translation Research Accelerator Research Plan, an international independent Expert Advisory Panel tasked with shaping $77.5million in funding to improve care and outcomes for Australians with diabetes and cardiovascular disease:
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Announcement Plan in full Letter of thanks from the Minister
18th May 2023
Prof Kausik Ray FMedSci
I have the absolute pleasure to announce that, on 18th May this year, I was elected a fellow of the Royal Academy of Medical Sciences. This huge honour is bestowed upon medical professionals for the "excellence of their science, their contribution to medicine and society and the range of their achievements". Keenly competitive and highly regarded, the Academy only consists of 1,261 fellows and I was one of only 59 scientists elected in 2023.
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Academy of Medical Sciences Summary of Achievements Short CV
There is a new class of cholesterol-lowering medicine which will soon be available and could help people who need their cholesterol lowering further, those who cannot tolerate statins, or those who can't afford expensive injections. I and my colleagues recently published two papers in the New England Journal of Medicine showing the largest evidence of safety and effectiveness of this new treatment, called Bempedoic Acid. Read the media coverage here:
A study was badly reported in the media recently, with deliberately shocking headlines claiming "half of those on statins won't have 'healthy' cholesterol after two years' of taking the pills". Fortunately I had the opportunity to correct journalists' interpretation of the (purely observational) study and respond to headlines which must have worried a vast number of statin users. In short, you have to be on the correct dose and take the medication every day for it to be effective. If you are on a dose which is too low and you don't take the pills every day, then you obviously will not achieve the desired outcome. Coverage:
The Lancet recently published a study about the 'Polypill', a cost-effective single pill combining four drugs which helps to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol and shows some cardiovascular benefits, such as reducing the risk of heart attacks, strokes and sudden death. Although the trial and implications are more relevant for low- and middle-income countries, in the UK as many as a third of people with high blood pressure are undiagnosed and, amongst those who are diagnosed, many don't manage their condition properly. Coverage:
In the Media
I presented the 18 month safety and efficacy data of the ORION-11 trial, which is testing the cholesterol-lowering drug, inclisiran, for safety. The drug shows remarkable results - with an initial injection, one at 3 months and thereafter one jab every 6 months - patients had an average reduction of cholesterol of 54% with, most importantly, no adverse safety signals. This is a novel and very exciting treatment which should make a huge difference in the lives of everyone with high cholesterol, particularly those who cannot tolerate statins and those who struggle to remember to take their medications on a daily basis. Full media coverage:
I had the honour of being invited to the BBC World News and the BBC World Service to discuss a ground-breaking collaboration between Novartis and the NHS: once approved, tens of thousands of NHS patients will be supplied with Inclisiran, the twice-yearly cholesterol-lowering injection I have led the development of. Up to 30,000 lives could be saved over a decade thanks to this pioneering initiative to tackle UK heart disease. Press release with full details, plus recording of the TV interview:
The Daily Mail has recently investigated three prominent UK Statin Deniers and their devastating effect upon the health of members of the public, thousands of whom continue to have a far higher risk of a heart attack or stroke because these unqualified persons have cast so much doubt upon statins' efficacy in their ongoing anti-statin propaganda. These three have been condemned by the Health Secretary (who called their claims 'pernicious lies') and 30 Editors-In-Chief of major heart-health journals. Read the articles here:
On 18th March the three pivotal phase 3 trials of Inclisiran, the first in class siRNA-based therapeutic for cholesterol-lowering (ORION-9, 10, 11) were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The largest of these, ORION-11, led by myself, studied populations with established cardiovascular disease and high-risk primary prevention patients in 7 countries across Europe and South Africa. This trial showed that 6-monthly injections of Inclisiran safely reduce LDL (ie bad) cholesterol by over half. The same findings were observed in the ORION-10 trial, conducted in the US, and in the ORION-9 trial, conducted in people with Familial Hypercholesterolaemia. This new approach could revolutionise cholesterol management for millions around the world and is now being considered for approval in the US and Europe. As follows links to the publications in the New England Journal of Medicine and related press coverage:
Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited disease that affects how the body breaks down LDL-cholesterol. But it’s unclear how many people live with the condition without knowing. A team led by myself carried out the largest meta-analysis to date to estimate the global prevalence of FH. Our findings, published this week, reveal the condition is more prevalent than previously thought. As follows the paper and related press coverage:
My recent paper looking at statins dose and adherence, and cardiovascular deaths, as published in JAMA Network Open, was universally acclaimed within the scientific community and widely reported in the British press; even garnering a front page on both the iPaper and Express. Full coverage:
Over the past few years I have helped lead the development of a revolutionary new tablet to lower bad cholesterol, which has just been given approval by NICE. Bempedoic Acid will be able to be used by adults with primary hypercholesterolaemia or mixed dyslipidemia who are unable to tolerate statins. It is the first new such treatment in over 10 years and should make a difference to the cardiovascular risk of up to 70,000 patients. Please do read coverage here:
I had the pleasure of being interviewed by BBC Inside Health for an in-depth program they made about gene 'silcencing'. Inside Health is a program which discussed topical health issues which sometimes may be difficult to understand. It was aired on Tuesday 19th October 2021 on BBC Radio 4; please do listen here:
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For the 2022 World Heart Day I was pleased to collaborate with ITN News to convey important clinical messages around understanding and managing cholesterol in those who have experienced a CVD event. Please do watch the final news segment here:
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I am immensely proud to announce that, at the recent American College of Cardiology Conference in New Orleans, we showed results from trials of the new Esperion medication, Bempedoic Acid, on the same day that our paper was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The results have shown that Bempedoic Acid slashes the risk of heart attacks and strokes by 15%, which is amazing news as it is an alternative for patients who are intolerant of statins, or who need multiple medications in order to bring their cholesterol levels down. Please do read the paper and see the coverage here:
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I had the pleasure of joining Dr Rupy recently, founder of The Doctor's Kitchen and a passionate believer in the ability of food to reverse preventable lifestyle diseases, to talk all things cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. I defined exactly what we’re referring to when we say cardiovascular disease (CVD) and atherosclerosis, what that entails and why it’s important, being the leading cause of death globally. We discussed the importance of cholesterol in the body. Without cholesterol there is no life. Cholesterol is the precursor to our hormones, it forms the structural components of our cells, and most of our cells are able to create the cholesterol we require hence why there is no nutritional need to consume cholesterol. By the end of this episode you’ll learn more about why the trifecta of high cholesterol, inflammation and damage to the arteries leads to disease, what blood measurements we should all have to calculate our risk, including apolipoprotein-B containing lipoproteins, Non-HDL and Lp(a), as well as the strategies to reduce risk with drugs and lifestyle. Please do watch on your preferred platform here:
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I was recently asked to provide an expert opinion on the statins debate by Virgin Media television; in this article I set out the minor side effects which occur, how common they are (evidence backed up by large randomised controlled trials), and how effective statins are at preventing future cardiovascular events, particularly in those who have already had a heart attack or stroke. Hopefully this will help people make the best decision for their own health:
My Latest Research
ORION8: In the largest safety dataset to date, more than 12,000 person years of safety shows Inclisiran (the first twice yearly treatment for cholesterol) is safe and provides sustained cholesterol lowering. Please read about it here:
Please do read my recent publication on how sustained control of LDL cholesterol with a treatment administered by a health care professional becomes the model of care for people with established cardiovascular disease and the shifts at the level of the population to lower risk groups. This means they are likely to have fewer events:
I am pleased to announce that a group of us have just been published in the Lancet, with a paper highlighting the seriousness and under-treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH) - the most serious form of genetically high cholesterol. Those who suffer with it have a painfully high cholesterol from birth, and by 12 years of age 1 in 10 have already had heart bypass surgery of aortic valve disease. Read about it here:
I was very kindly invited to do Grand Rounds at one of the most respected medical institutions in the world, Massachusets General Hospital. Grand Rounds are a formal meeting which serve as a form of medical education for clinicians and students, and are highly prestigious events which feature and invite only the most pre-eminent physicians in the world. Do watch my Grand Rounds presentation and an interview here:
Among people with a prior history or heart or vascular disease despite medications a significant residual risk of recurrent events and dying remains high. As with anything individual risk varies. To allow more reliable quantification yet, the SMART tool was validated in the largest study yet using GP data in the UK in 380 000 people. It shows that in men and women using routinely captured data the observed risk corresponds closely to that predicted by the tool meaning it could be used easily in routine clinical practice. Moreover, by knowing the risk, newer often more expensive treatments which are sometimes restricted could be better targeted to those that derive the greatest benefit. Insurers, healthcare providers as well as patients and doctors could therefore for a given cost of a therapy reliably identify risk thresholds, therefore how many people would be offered treatment and hence how many adverse events avoided.
The first safe and effective gene silencing therapy for cholesterol-lowering, Inclisiran, is starting to become approved globally. Our most recent paper, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, pools data from 3 trials (ORION 9, 10 and 11) and 3,600 patients. It shows that a 6-monthly injection maintains annualised reductions in bad cholesterol of around 52% and has a good safety profile comparable to placebo.
Please do read the paper here:
I recently recorded a short discussion in which I discuss what the latest research tells us about LDL-C ('bad' cholesterol) targets. Watch it here:
At this year's American Heart Association Congress, Philadelphia, I presented the most recent data from the BETonMACE trial which I am leading. Read the results here:
At the recent ESC in Paris, I discuss the results of the Phase 3 ORION-11 trial: the impact of Inclisiran on LDL-C over 18 months in patients with ASCVD or equivalent. Watch it here:
Please do watch my key takeaways from the recent EASD conference: cardiac risk reduction should be a priority for diabetic patients and the importance of cardiometabolic disease management:
I am pleased to announce my latest paper, "Pharmacological Lipid Modification Therapies for the Prevention of Ischaemic Heart Disease-Current and Future Options"published in the Lancet is available to read now:
Please do read a recent paper authored by myself and my visiting international fellow, published in the Journal Frontiers of Medicine, explaining new therapies and methods to lower bad cholesterol:
I am happy to announce my paper showing gaps in care and how care needs to be simplified: "EU-Wide cross-sectional observational study of lipid-modifying therapy use in secondary and primary care: the DA VINCI study" is one of the top 5 papers downloaded from the EJPC in 2021, and continues to shape health policy globally.
I also recorded a program at the ESC on the results of the ORION data for Medscape, discussing siRNA (emerging gene silencing therapies) and PCSK9s:
I recently presented results for THEMIS at the ESC, a trial which has helped define the role of anti-platelet therapy in those with CAD and Type 2 Diabetes. Watch here (password: AZesc2019):
I am delighted to announce that my paper on global insulin use has just been published in the Journal of Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism. Read it here:
Read about my global FH initiative in this EAS publication. 1 in 250 people globally have genetically determined elevations in cholesterol - get screened now.
I am proud to announce my paper explaining the common mechanism through which triglycerides and cholesterol increase heart disease has just been published in JAMA. Read it here:
I spoke about Bempedoic Acid at this year's ESC; watch my interview with Radcliffe Cardiology here:
At this year's ESC I talked about Statins, Diabetes and Glucose Metabolism: Challenging Cases and Considerations and also about Statins and the Elderly. Watch both videos here:
At the recent American Diabetes Association Congress I discussed Statins, Diabetes and Glucose Metabolism - watch it here:
I was delighted to be included in the ESC's "Best of 2017" research roundup, for our research on prediction of CV events in FH patients
I discuss micro- and macrovascular disease in type 2 diabetes, the implications and risk modification with new glucose-lowering agents
I was interviewed at the 2017 American Heart Association Congress on High vs Moderate dosing for the secondary prevention of coronary artery disease:
Listen to a recent CIRCULATION Podcast outlining analyses from the WOSCOPS trial and the importance of LDL-C lowering for the primary prevention of CV disease amongst men.
I was interviewed about the efficacy and safety of Alirocumab in patients with diabetes at the recent EASD Congress; watch it here:
During the recent ESC I spoke with Congress Report about the CLEAR Harmony, a trial testing a new therapeutic compound for patients with high CV risk. Watch my summary here:
I recently had the honour of saying a few words at my good friend Prof Kees Hovingh's inaugural speech; watch me speak about Today's Trials and Tomorrow's Treatments:
Watch my discussion on Familial Hypercholesterolaemia for Congress Report at the 2018 EAS Congress, Lisbon.
Watch my presentation at the recent American College of Cardiology congress in which I evaluated the evidence for lower LDL-C goals
Read my research from the WOSCOPS study showing that a small daily dose of statins in primary prevention patients reduces deaths from heart disease in participants by over 25%.
Watch me discuss the analysis of the WOSCOPS study with Lead Author, Dr Antonio Vallejo-Vaz
Watch me talk about the primary results of the Exenatide Study of Cardiovascular Event Lowering at the recent European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Congress
Here I discuss the key take home message of the WOSCOPS study for clinicians: