Trust stalwart Regeneron cuts Praluent price
Investment trust stalwart Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN) and its partner Sanofi yesterday announced a deal with Express Scripts, under which they will substantially lower the net price of Praluent in exchange for exclusive coverage on the US pharmacy benefit manager’s national formulary. The move deals a blow to rival Amgen, whose competing drug Repatha will be displaced from this formulary, which covers c25m people in the US.
Regeneron is a top 10 investment for London-listed Biotech Growth Trust (BIOG, accounting for 7.2% of its NAV) and International Biotech Trust (IBT, 4%) in the UK and Tekla Healthcare Investors (HQH, 4.6%) and Tekla Life Science Investors (HQL, 4.3%) in the US. It is also a smaller investment for BB Biotech (BION, 2.5%). Meanwhile Amgen is an important investment for HQH (8.3%) and HQL (6.6%), as well as BIOG (5.4%). Regeneron’s shares gained ~2% on the news, while those of Amgen fell by 3%, so the net effect on the funds ranged from marginally positive to negative.
However, the move is important as it marks a new price-cutting phase in the fierce commercial battle between Sanofi/Regeneron and Amgen in the market for PCSK9 antibodies, which are used for the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia. The agreement, which takes effect on 1 July 2018, follows the presentation of the results of the Odyssey Outcomes trial at the American College of Cardiology Conference last month. This huge study involved 18,600 patients treated for up to five years with Praluent, which showed a 15% reduction in the risk of major cardiovascular events. The outcomes data matched that of Repatha.
Both parties have struggled to make the projected commercial headway in this market since the products were launched in 2015, largely because US payors (insurance groups etc) have restricted coverage and played the two off parties off against each other to gain large price discounts.
Trust stalwart Regeneron cuts Praluent price