PCSK9 inhibitors are not cost-effective, concludes JAMA article

17 August 2016

The price of a new group of cholesterol-lowering drugs is too high and should be cut by at least 68% to represent good value for the US health care system, according to a new article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

The article analyzed the cost-effectiveness of recently-approved proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) inhibitors for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) or atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

The cost of the PCKS9 inhibitors was compared to ezetimibe when administered on top of statin therapy. Repatha (evolocumab), marketed by US biotech major Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN), and Praluent (alirocumab), from French pharma Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) and the USA’s Regeneron (Nasdaq: REGN), are the drugs analyzed.

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