AstraZeneca gains US approval for gout drug Zurampic

Shares of AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) rose 1.7% to £44.72 by mid-morning today, after the Anglo-Swedish pharma major revealed that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved Zurampic (lesinurad) in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (XOI) for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with gout in patients who have not achieved target serum uric acid (sUA) levels with an XOI alone.

In combination with the current standard of care, XOIs allopurinol or febuxostat, Zurampic provides a dual mechanism of action to increase excretion and decrease production of uric acid, enabling more patients with inadequately controlled gout to achieve target treatment goals, the company noted

Sean Bohen, executive vice president of global medicines development and chief medical officer of AstraZeneca, said: “With the FDA approval of Zurampic, we are pleased to offer a new treatment option for the many patients who are suffering from the effects of gout and who are not reaching the recommended serum uric acid treatment targets with the current standard of care.”