Currently the biggest-grossing drugs class in the world is statins. These drugs decrease cholesterol levels in order to reduce the risk of heart attacks and grossed $35 billion worldwide in 2010. The research direction for profit is still undoubtedly cholesterol. The pharmaceutical industry would see a big drop in profit if the diet–heart hypothesis were to be disproved, and this is why they employ many of the top scientists and top labs in the world – to try and support the crumbling edifice of this fragile theory.
