Here’s the scenario: You or someone you love has just been diagnosed with high cholesterol. You’re probably on overload trying to digest what this life-threatening condition means, the impact it will have on your health and longevity. And…assuming that you aren’t in denial, you’re probably wondering about the ramifications of having to take a cholesterol-lowering drug like the popular statins for the rest of your life.

Yes. The rest of your life.

You are not alone. Millions of Americans take statins and reluctantly deal with the dreaded side effects because they have limited treatment options. As a result, patients frequently discontinue treatments because they only work well for some people, while only marginally for others; the perceived annoyance of intolerable side effects outweighs the effectiveness of the drugs.

The irony is that every year, 600,000 plus Americans needlessly die from heart disease Fool.com reports, which is staggering. Heart disease is killing Americans at an alarming rate; it’s now the number one killer of men—and surprisingly, women. To keep things in perspective, the total death rate from heart disease in the United States is nearly 201 times the number of people killed during the terrorist attacks of 9/ll. Is it outrageous that Americans are not outraged with this death toll that can be prevented?

On average, a mind-blowing 52 Americans die per second from high cholesterol and heart diseases like homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH)!

There’s no doubt that Americans are in dire need of innovative treatments to combat high cholesterol to reduce the risk of premature death associated with heart disease. But at what cost?

In the near future, a new class of breakthrough cholesterol-shattering drugs will become available such as the FDA’s recently-approved Praluent^® (alirocumab). Made and marketed jointly by Regeneron and Sanofi, Fool.com states that it will cost each patient a whopping $14,600 per year. Outrageous enough? Well, perhaps not, if you’re looking for investment opportunities…

With the high cost of spending more than one billion dollars to bring Praluent to market, Regeneron and Sanofi believe that Praluent will become the latest blockbuster drug, potentially making billions in profit for their investors.

Why are they so confident? In clinical trials, Praluent was found to work differently than statins by prohibiting protein activity responsible for dissolving bad cholesterol in the liver. As a result, Praluent was found to significantly help the body rid itself of bad cholesterol by expelling it from the bloodstream. The numbers speak for themselves – a 62% drop in bad cholesterol for patients who took Praluent in combination with statins vs. statins alone.

But Not So Fast

Although Praluent met its endpoint in clinical trials with astonishing results, it will initially only be made available to people who have genetic mutations that cause dangerously high cholesterol levels and to patients who’ve previously fallen victim to heart attacks or strokes. Fool.com explains people with chronic cholesterol conditions, like HoFH, may be in the front of the lines to receive the drug.

This raises the question of affordability and how wealthy Americans might enjoy easier access to Praluent prescriptions. However, industry watchers are forecasting that if Praluent continues its successful run, it could be hailed as the new standard of care for treating high cholesterol and made available to millions of Americans.

The Bad News for Patients and Healthcare Providers

With the cost of Praluent so high, it could widely impact healthcare payers and insurance companies, thus driving up monthly insurance premiums and co-pays for patients. Express Scripts, which overseas drug programs for millions of Americans, predicts that approximately 71 million Americans could one day qualify for treatment with drugs like Praluent. With current pricing, the cost of treating these patients would be a jaw-dropping $1 trillion annually. For perspective, Americans annually spend nearly $374 billion on all medications, combined.

Investment Advice: Run Don’t Walk Given time, Regeneron and Sanofi predict that if 500,000 Americans are treated with Praluent in 2016, sales will soar at $7 billion. Although this doesn’t take into account that discounts will extended to payers, which will likely lower Regeneron and Sanofi’s profits, investors aren’t being shy. Buy! Buy! Buy!

For more information about this crazy breakthrough treatment to bust high cholesterol, check out Fool.com’s full story.

If you know someone who could use an investment to send their kiddies to school or better yet a new treatment to help save their lives from diseases like HoFH, pass this article along and let them know a lifesaver may be on the way!