Which drug became the first statin approved by the U.S. FDA?

Lovastatin became the first statin approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA approved lovastatin, marketed as Mevacor, in 1987. It was developed from compounds first identified in fungi, including a substance produced by Aspergillus terreus. Lovastatin blocks HMG-CoA reductase, an enzyme the liver uses to make cholesterol, thereby lowering blood levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

Statins transformed prevention of heart attacks and strokes because they reduce cholesterol and, in large clinical studies, lower cardiovascular risk. Their use is different from treating an acute heart attack: they are generally prescribed as part of longer-term risk reduction.

Lovastatin is often confused with atorvastatin, which became one of the best-known later statins. Atorvastatin is more potent milligram for milligram, but it was not the first FDA-approved member of the class. Lovastatin opened the modern statin era.