Akira Endo, Scholar of Statins That Reduce Heart Disease, Dies at 90 NYT: Science By: Hisako Ueno and Mike Ives 15 June 2024 at 09:21 The Japanese biochemist found in the 1970s that cholesterol-lowering drugs lowered the level of LDL, or โbadโ cholesterol, in the blood. ยฉ Jiji Press, via Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesAkira Endo in an undated photo. He grew more than 6,000 fungi in the early 1970s as part of his research on cholesterol.