Praluent is in the process of listing insurance benefits

Passed the HIRA's Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee

Sanofi-Aventis' PCSK inhibitor Praluent is belatedly in the process of registering insurance benefits.

 

It is slow compared to the rival drug Amgen's Repatha.

 

According to the industry on the 12th, Praluent (Alirocumab) was recently judged appropriate for benefit from the HIRA's Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.

 

It is a PCSK9 inhibitor and was first approved in Korea in January 2017.

 

Since April of the same year, Repatha(Evolocumab) was approved and was first listed as an indication of HOFH (Homozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia) in August 2018.

 

In January 2020 Repatha succeeded in expanding the benefit criteria to patients with ASCVD, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, HeFH, Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia, and statin intolerance.

 

The PCSK9 inhibitor is a drug that has excellent efficacy but has a price issue.

 

There were problems both at home and abroad, and Amgen cut the prices of their drugs by 60% in October 2018 and Sanofi in February 2019.

 

Sanofi voluntarily withdrew Praluent's listing in October 2018, before the drug price cut, and passed the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, about two years later.

 

Interest is focused on what changes Prarent will bring to the market after 4 years.

 

Domestic treatment guidelines recommend that patients with ASCVD (AtheroSclerotic CardioVascular Disease) be adjusted to less than 70mg/dL LDL-C to prevent recurrence of cardiovascular disease.

 

In 2019, the European Society of Cardiology lowered the target LDL-C level for ultra-high-risk groups to less than 55 mg/dL.

 

Accordingly, there is increasing interest in the clinical field about PCSK9 inhibitors, which are useful for ultra-high-risk patients who cannot reach the target level with existing treatment regimens.

 

Praluent has a tendency to reduce the risk of all-cause death, and there are Praluent 75mg and Praluent 150mg available.

 

It is possible to select a dose for each patient based on the patient's condition and LDL-C level.