CVS Chooses New Cholesterol Drug for Caremark
November 23 2015 - 8:50AM
Dow Jones News
CVS Health Corp. said Monday that Amgen Inc.'s Repatha will be
the only drug of a new class of cholesterol-lowering injections in
its Caremark pharmacy-benefits manager.
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved Repatha and
rival drug Praluent, developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.
and Sanofi SA, as a new way to treat high cholesterol.
The new class of drugs, which are known as PCSK9 inhibitors, has
drawn attention for their potential to combat heart disease but
also for their potential high costs to the health care system.
Repatha costs about $14,100 a year and Praluent costs about
$14,600.
Amgen estimates that some 11 million people in the U.S. can't
lower their so-called bad cholesterol, LDL, to healthy levels using
statin pills like Lipitor. Pharmacy-benefit managers are frequently
able to get large discounts off the list-prices of drugs,
especially when agreeing to exclusivity or when similar drugs are
produced by more than one company.
"We have determined that choosing a single PCSK9 inhibitor for
our commercial formularies allows us to get the best price possible
for clients and preserves our commitment to deliver the best care
available," Chief Medical Officer Troyen A. Brennan said.
The FDA approved Repatha to be taken with statin drugs for
patients with a hereditary condition called familial
hypercholesterolemia or with coronary artery disease that requires
additional lowering of cholesterol. While the new class of drugs do
reduce cholesterol, studies haven't yet proven that the new class
of drugs reduces cardiac disease, too.
The new self-injectable drugs work by blocking PCSK9, a protein
that degrades the receptors on liver cells that grab LDL from the
blood to clean it from the body.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Sanofi
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=FR0000120578
Access Investor Kit for Sanofi
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US80105N1054
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 23, 2015 08:35 ET (13:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
CVS Health (NYSE:CVS)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024
