Sanofi debuts Praluent in Canada

The Canadian subsidiary of French pharma major Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) said yesterday that Praluent (alirocumab) is now available in Canada for the treatment of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), in certain adult patients.

Praluent is indicated as an adjunct to diet and maximally-tolerated statin therapy for the treatment of adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) or clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) who require additional lowering of LDL-C.  The effect of Praluent on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has not been determined.

Praluent belongs to a new class of cholesterol medication known as PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9) inhibitors, and was jointly developed by Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: REGN). It is already approved for marketing in Europe and the USA, where it was launched in late 2015 and July 2015, respectively.