A new drug that offers new hope for Americans suffering from cardiovascular disease was approved by regulators on Friday.
The drug, called Praluent, was developed by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and aims to sharply and immediately lower cholesterol levels, according to The New York Times.
In clinical trials, Praluent reduced levels of LDL cholesterol, the so-called bad cholesterol, by 40 percent or more, even among patients already taking statins, the mainstay pills like Lipitor for controlling blood lipids.
However, Praulent comes at a steeper cost, which analysts have estimated to exceed the $7,000 to $12,000 estimated earlier by health plan executives. Praulent's list price is about $14,600 per year, which is much higher than some health plan executives and Wall Street analysts had been expecting.
As a result, some health planners may be forced to put in place stricter measures to control which patients can use the drug and prevent it from becoming a bane to one's budget.
Elias Zerhouni, head of research and development at Sanofi, told The New York Times that the price of Praluent justifies "the potential benefits to patients and savings to the health care system that the drug would provide by preventing heart attacks and strokes." The publication, however, pointed out that the drug's ability to do that has not been proven.
Further studies are still being undertaken, to prove that the drugs could really prevent heart attacks and strokes, but results are not expected until around 2017, The Boston Globe reported. Some doctors say they will use the drugs sparingly or not at all until then.
