Bile acid sequestrant acid reabsorption will decrease cholesterol levels, in particular, low-density lipoprotein (commonly known as "bad cholesterol") in blood. Consequently, these drugs have been used for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia. Use of these agents as hypolipidemic agents has decreased markedly since the introduction of the statins, which are more efficacious than bile acid sequestrants at lowering LDL. They are occasionally used as an adjunct to the statins as an alternative to the fibrates (another major group of cholesterol-lowering drugs), which are thought to increase the risk of rhabdomyolysis when used with statins. The bile-acid-binding resins can raise triglycerides modestly (about
Specialty drugs in the United States but some—such as Pfizer and Amgen—are also developing biosimilars." In 2013 AfPA director David Charles published an article on specialty drugs in which he agreed with the findings of the Congressional Budget Office that spending on prescription medications "saves costs in other areas of healthcare spending". He observed that specialty drugs are so high priced that many patients do not fill prescriptions resulting in more serious health problems increasing. His article referred to specialty drugs such as "new cancer drugs specially formulated for patients with specific genetic markers". He explained the high cost of these "individualized medications based on diagnostic