What is Lp(a) International Task Force?
The discourse on Lp(a) among many stakeholders across the globe (medical societies, healthcare professionals, academics/researchers, patient organisations and life sciences industry) points to the urgent need to encourage a more systematic and structured approach to testing the population, following guidelines, to decrease the overall cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk / prevent CVD from high levels of Lp(a). Recommendations and guidelines such as the EAS Lipoprotein(a) 2022 Consensus Statement[1] underline that everyone should be tested once in a lifetime. An enabling policy environment is crucial for governments to be able to deliver on CVD prevention, health innovation, and to ensure optimal and swift access to preventative therapies for individuals and relatives affected with elevated Lp(a).
Effective identification of Lp(a) levels as an independent and causal risk factor for CVD[2] and management options, including imminent new medicines, will address a clear Unmet Medical Need (UMN), and sustainability of health systems.
To tackle this, FH Europe Foundation embarked on the preparation of an ambitious global strategy and roadmap on Lp(a). In April of 2023, a core team was established with the objective of setting up an International Task Force (ITF) of experts from several different disciplines to contribute to this. This Task Force met for the first time in June and will finalise its work at a face-to-face meeting in the framework of the ESC Congress in Amsterdam at the end of August 2023. The aim was to launch in January 2024 a 5-year project to implement a global strategy and roadmap for Lp(a) testing.
However, a key milestone before that is a Scientific Summit in the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, during which FH Europe Foundation will present the need for much more policy attention to the global burden of Lp(a) and how this can be effectively tackled, to save lives, and also to reduce pressure on overstretched health systems.
[1] https://eas-society.org/page/lipoproteina-consensus-2022/
[2] Doherty S, Hernandez S, Rikhi R, et al. Lipoprotein(a) as a Causal Risk Factor for Cardiovascular Disease. Curr Cardiovasc Risk Rep. 2025;19(1):8. doi:10.1007/s12170-025-00760-1
Long term overarching outcome
Improve Lp(a) testing uptake and the creation of a more enabling policy environment supporting implementation and access.