Discovery and development of statins trials showed very good inhibitory effect as in clinical trials, however in a long term toxicity study in dogs it resulted in toxic effects at higher doses and as a result was believed to be too toxic to be given to humans. In 1978, Alfred Alberts and colleagues at Merck Research Laboratories discovered a new natural product in a fermentation broth of "Aspergillus terreus", their product showed good HMGR inhibition and they named the product mevinolin, which later became known as lovastatin. The cholesterol controversy began in the early promotion of statins. Statins are a competitive antagonists of HMG CoA,
We Are Drugs to finish them after the band finished touring to support "Dopamine"—he would want to release. Several months later, Jenkins began discussing plans for a new EP release in mid-2016. Contrary to the band's previous few albums—"Out of the Vein" (2003), "Ursa Major" (2009), and "Dopamine" (2015), which were recorded over the course of four to six years—the band was limited to only one week in a studio in Texas in early 2016 to record "We Are Drugs". Jenkins stated that the success of "Dopamine" finally allowed him to stop obsessing over perfecting lyrics, something he had done in the past.