NLA 2026 Preview: What Pharmacists Need to Know About Lipid Science, PCSK9 Data, and Pediatric Cardiometabolic Risk

The lipid field has changed dramatically in the past decade, and the National Lipid Association (NLA) 2026 Scientific Sessions reflect just how much ground has been covered. Where clinicians once had a limited pharmacologic tool kit, they now face a rapidly expanding landscape of PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies, RNA-based therapies, CRISPR-based approaches, and emerging Lp(a)-targeted agents, all generating new evidence with direct implications for patient care.

For pharmacists in particular, the sessions represent an opportunity and a challenge: staying current on the science while also figuring out how to translate it into real-world clinical decisions for increasingly complex patients. In this interview with Pharmacy Times, Mary Katherine Cheeley, PharmD, BCPS, CLS, FNLA, previews the sessions she's most looking forward to at NLA 2026, from a first-place abstract on glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists and pancreatic effects to outcomes data from the FOURIER (NCT01764633), ODYSSEY (NCT01663402), and VESALIUS (NCT03872401) trials to a dedicated session on pediatric cardiometabolic risk. She also addresses the challenge closest to her heart as a pharmacist: making sure patients adhere to the right therapies before escalating to higher-cost agents, and how imaging and implementation science can help make that case.

Pharmacy Times: The NLA 2026 Scientific Sessions are coming up—what are the 2 or 3 themes or conversations you're most anticipating, and why are they particularly relevant for pharmacists right now?

Mary Katherine Cheeley, PharmD, BCPS, CLS, FNLA: It’s a really exciting time in the lipid space. Ten years ago, 15 years ago, we didn’t have that many exciting drugs, and now the field is progressing so quickly—new technologies, new ways of treating conditions that we have for a long time thought we had a handle on. With cardiovascular disease, it turns out we don’t have as firm a handle as we thought. It’s really exciting to see in the scientific sessions specifically what will be coming out in the next couple of years. I also love the NLA sessions because they focus on implementation science, which is something the NLA does a really great job at: not just asking what the science is but also how we translate that into the clinic when we’re seeing our patients.

Pharmacy Times: Are there any specific sessions, debates, or data presentations on the agenda that you think every pharmacist attending should make a point to catch? What makes them stand out?

Cheeley: First and foremost, what makes the scientific sessions so different from our other meetings throughout the year is the podium presentations for abstracts. I also have the pleasure of reading through those abstracts, and it’s really exciting to see the different science that’s happening there. One in particular that I’m really excited about as a pharmacist is the first-place award for our abstract winners, which is on Saturday [June 13], just before noon. It’s on GLP-1 receptor agonists—they rarely cause acute pancreatitis, but they do induce other hypertrophies and pancreatic enlargement. As pharmacists, we always thought about acute pancreatitis; it’s something we have counseled many patients and providers about, but the science on that is changing. I’m really excited for that discussion and for the way that research was conducted. I also am always really excited about the copresentation with European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) on Friday [June 12] evening, which again addresses primary prevention—a huge theme throughout the scientific sessions. And then at the very end, Kaye-Eileen Willard, MD, who is currently president of the NLA, will be speaking about implementation: How do we make it better? What can we do? The science is there. How do we actually translate that into making a difference in our patients’ lives?

Pharmacy Times: Emerging lipid-lowering therapies, from inclisiran to oral PCSK9 inhibitors to emerging RNA-based approaches, seem to be generating a lot of buzz. What new data or clinical guidance are you hoping the sessions will shed light on for practicing pharmacists?

Cheeley: The new drugs are really exciting. I am such a nerd, not just in the lipid space but also in the drug space, and talking about CRISPR and gene editing is going to be fascinating. We start off the sessions that way, but then we also revisit older data in a new light—looking back at the FOURIER and ODYSSEY outcomes trials, how those can be applied today in the patients we’re seeing, and then obviously the VESALIUS trial, which is going to be huge. That trial addresses primary prevention in patients with PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies, which is something all of us know we need to move toward, and now we have some data behind it. I’m also really excited about the new data coming out on children. The NLA does a great job of looking not just at adults but also at diet, special populations, women, and kids. There’s an entire session on children and intervening in cardiometabolic risk—not just heart disease, but insulin resistance and obesity—which is going to be really key. Pharmacists in all settings, whether clinic, retail, or PBM [pharmacy benefit manager], have an opportunity to think about preventing disease before patients become adults. That session is on Saturday evening, I believe. There’s also an entire session on severe hypertriglyceridemia, covering the genetic conditions that lend themselves to a triglyceride-focused approach.

Pharmacy Times: Residual cardiovascular risk despite statin therapy remains a real challenge. Are there sessions at NLA 2026 addressing combination strategies or triglyceride/Lp(a) management that pharmacists should be paying close attention to?

Cheeley: Many of our patients are so high-risk when it comes to diet, exercise, and nonadherence. What I’m really excited to think about is how I can have an impact as a pharmacist on making sure patients are successful on baseline therapy—statin therapy—before we go to the next step. We know that PCSK9 monoclonal antibodies work, and we know that Lp(a) therapies are coming and those data will be out soon. But I’m that pharmacist who doesn’t want people on more medications—it’s a hazard of my job, I guess. So making sure we can keep patients on lower-risk, lower-cost agents is important, and we have some really good sessions about that: picking the right patients to be on therapy. There’s a lot about imaging, which pharmacists don’t necessarily think about, but in the lipid clinic I look at patients’ imaging to say, “Look, you do have atherosclerosis in this vascular bed”—and then use that to help the patient understand why adherence to their statin therapy matters. We have talked a lot at NLA about statin intolerance, which is a huge passion of mine. There’s not a ton of sessions on that specifically, but it always comes up. Making sure we get patients adherent to lower therapies before we escalate is essential, because we know that as we escalate therapy, cost goes up and adherence goes down. There are really great sessions on Lp(a) and on imaging that I think will help us give patients the reason to stay on their statin therapy.