European Commission approves Xermelo

The European Commission has approved Xermelo (telotristat ethyl) 250mg three times a day (tid) for the treatment of carcinoid syndrome diarrhea in combination with somatostatin analogue (SSA) therapy in adults inadequately controlled by SSA therapy.

This approval allows for the marketing of Xermelo in the above indication in all 28 member states of the European Union, Norway and Iceland, said French pharma company Ipsen (Euronext: IPN), whose shares rose 3.35% to 117.10 euros on the news, having hit a high of 119.25 euros in early trading this morning.

The FDA approved Lexicon Pharmaceuticals’ (Nasdaq: LXRX) Xermelo for carcinoid syndrome diarrhea treatment in March this year. Ipsen gained right to commercialize telotristat etiprate in Europe and other countries outside the USA and Japan in October 2014. Under the terms of that agreement, Lexicon became eligible to receive up to $145 million from Ipsen.