Cholesterol drug Praluent successful in reducing heart risk

Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals got effective results in reducing the risk of major adverse heart events in a clinical study of nearly 19,000 patients with the help of cholesterol drug Praluent. Drugmakers now hope that the results are good enough to convince insurers to pay for the pricey medicine. Treatment with Praluent was associated with fewer overall deaths, cutting down the risk of overall mortality by up to 15% as compared to the patients who received statin therapy. For improving the commercial scenario of the drug Sanofi and Regeneron showed willingness to reduce the net price of Praluent for certain high-risk patients only if U.S. payers agree to ease the restrictions that have so far limited access to the drug. Regeneron and Sanofi mentioned that they are planning to file a supplementary Biologics License Application to FDA by the mid of this year in hopes of adding the Odyssey data to Praluent’s label.