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UK cost agency rebuffs Sanofi cholesterol drug but backs Amgen's

Reuters - UK Focus

LONDON, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Britain's cost watchdog has recommended that patients with high cholesterol should not get Sanofi (NasdaqGM: GCVRZ - news) and Regeneron's new cholesterol-lowering injection Praluent, although Amgen (Xetra: 867900 - news) 's similar drug Repatha will be available.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE (LSE: 0FEW.L - news) ) cost watchdog said in draft guidance on Monday that Praluent's benefits were uncertain and it was likely to overshoot standard cost-effectiveness thresholds.

NICE, which decides if drugs should be used on the state health service, had initially reached a similar decision for Amgen's product in November.

But in a change of heart on Friday it said Repatha could be an option for some patients, provided it was supplied at an agreed - but undisclosed - price discount.

Both Praluent and Repatha belong to a potent new class of drugs known as PCSK9 inhibitors that have proved highly effective at lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol. (Reporting by Ben Hirschler, editing by David Evans)