United States: Federal Panel Backs Approval of New Cholesterol-Lowering Drug to Fight Heart Attacks

The drugs are injected every two weeks or once a month, depending on the formulation. The approval group’s chairman argued for broader availability of the drugs, saying two years is a long time for them to wait for clinical trial findings [Did he receive funds from Big Pharma to fast-track approval?] The drugs would cost up to $10,000 a year — and millions of people are likely to qualify to take them if they are approved for a broader population:  Sanofi estimates that 11 million Americans might qualify.  Pharmaceutical companies see the tantalizing prospect of multi-billion-dollar blockbuster drugs, and are racing to get them to market as rapidly as possible.  One cardiologist worries that the patient population who take the drugs will expand beyond limited categories. Already, he said, the companies are conducting aggressive education campaigns and slipping brochures under doctors’ doors at medical meetings.