Drug firm makes cholesterol pill more affordable
Sanofi and Regeneron cut list price by 60% to give US consumers better access and to lower out-of-pocket costs
New York — Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Monday that they will slash the US list price of their potent but expensive cholesterol fighter Praluent by 60%, as the drugmakers follow a similar move by rival Amgen in hopes of increasing use of the drug. The new list price for Praluent will be $5,850 a year, matching the price Amgen set when it lowered the list of its competing drug, Repatha, in October 2018. Sanofi and Regeneron said they expect the lower-priced Praluent to be available for pharmacies to order in early March. They said the new price should improve patient access and result in lower out-of-pocket costs for US consumers. Praluent and Repatha belong to a class of injectable biotech drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors that dramatically lower bad LDL cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart attacks and death. Sales of both have been severely constrained by onerous roadblocks to patient access put up by insurers looking to limit spending on the expensive drugs. They w...
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