Praulent, a new cholesterol drug, when used with older statin medicines, help lower risk of heart events and deaths. The results of the big study of heart attack survivors were shared on Saturday at an American College of Cardiology conference in Florida. Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, the makers of Praulent which sponsored the study, said they will work with insurers on pricing to get the drug to those who need it the most. While the benefit may appear small, since 167 people have to take the medication for almost three years to prevent a single death, Dr. Philippe Gabriel Steg, from Hospital Bichat in Paris, pointed out that it is the ultimate outcome that matters to patients. High cost However, the high cost of Praulent may deter patients from using the cholesterol-lowering drug. Because the medication costs more than $14,000 a year, insurers have balked at paying for the medication without a proof that it reduces health problems and not just bad cholesterol, CBS reported. …show more content…
The main medicine for reducing bad cholesterol is statins, but some patients cannot tolerate it or do not get enough help from the drug. The study involved both Praulent and a similar medication, Repatha, manufactured by Amgen. But Repatha works in a different way and lowers cholesterol much more. The study on Praulent took a longer time and involved patients at a higher risk of heart events. These were almost 19,000 patients who suffered a heart attack or serious chest pain the previous year that they had to be hospitalized. Even if they had maximum statin use, all of the patients had LDL over 70. Praulent was given to half of the patients and to the other half, placebo. It started at a lower dose and increased if the LDL of the patient did not go down below