Praluent® (alirocumab) Injection Receives FDA Approval to Treat Children with Genetic Form of High Cholesterol

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., March 11, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) announced the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the approval of Praluent^® (alirocumab) as an adjunct to diet and other low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering therapies to include pediatric patients aged 8 and older with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH).

“Many children with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) are able to substantially improve their LDL-C (bad cholesterol) with currently available therapies. But for those children whose LDL-C remains dangerously high, this approval is an important milestone as it gives these children and their families an additional option to help reduce and manage their LDL-C levels much earlier in their lives,” said Mary P. McGowan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of the Family Heart Foundation.

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an inherited condition caused by mutations in one of several genes that control how the body processes cholesterol, which can lead to very high levels of LDL-C (bad cholesterol). FH can come in two forms: HeFH, which develops when one mutated gene is inherited from one parent; and homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), which develops when a mutated gene is inherited from both parents. Praluent is approved to treat both children and adults with HeFH and adults with HoFH.

The approval is based on a Phase 3, randomized multicenter trial evaluating pediatric patients aged 8 to 17 with HeFH, who had LDL-C levels of 130mg/dL or greater and were already being treated with lipid-lowering medications. Patients were randomized to receive Praluent (N=101) or placebo (N=52) every two or four weeks in two consecutive cohorts. Patients who received Praluent every four weeks had 31% lower LDL-C than placebo at 24 weeks (97.5% Confidence Interval: -45.0% to -17.9%; p<0.0001). Improvements in additional key lipid parameters were also observed. Results from the trial were recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics.

No new adverse reactions were identified in this trial, and the safety profile was consistent with the safety profile observed in adults with HeFH. Across Praluent trials in patients with primary hyperlipidemia (N=2,476), the most common adverse reactions (≥5%) more frequently observed with Praluent than placebo have been injection site reactions (7%), and influenza (6%) and diarrhea (5%).

“The approval of Praluent for the treatment of high cholesterol was a historic landmark achievement, as it was the first approved therapy targeting the genetically-validated PCSK9 target for heart disease,” said George D. Yancopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., Board co-Chair, President and Chief Scientific Officer at Regeneron, and a principal inventor of Praluent. “Praluent has made a meaningful impact in the treatment of adults with familial hypercholesterolemia, and we are proud that our innovation will now be able to help appropriate children with the heterozygous form of this disease manage their dangerously high levels of LDL-C.”

About the Praluent HeFH Pediatric Trial

The randomized multicenter Phase 3 trial consisted of a 24-week double-blind, placebo-controlled evaluating the efficacy and safety of Praluent in pediatric patients aged 8 to 17 years with HeFH (N=79). The primary endpoint was the percent change in LDL-C from baseline to week 24 in the Praluent and placebo treated patients. At baseline, patients were on a low-fat diet and being treated with background lipid-lowering therapy. In the trial, patients were randomized 2:1 to receive Praluent or placebo every 2 or 4 weeks. The Praluent dose was based on body weight.

About Praluent

Praluent inhibits the binding of PCSK9 to the LDL receptor and thereby increases the number of available LDL receptors on the surface of liver cells to clear LDL, which lowers LDL-C levels in the blood. Praluent was developed by Regeneron and Sanofi under a global collaboration agreement and invented by Regeneron using the company's proprietary VelocImmune^® technology that yields optimized fully-human monoclonal antibodies.

In the U.S., Praluent is currently indicated:

• to reduce the risk of myocardial infarction, stroke, and unstable angina requiring hospitalization in adults with established cardiovascular disease
• as an adjunct to diet, alone or in combination with other low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) lowering therapies in adults with primary hyperlipidemia including HeFH to reduce LDL-C
• as an adjunct to other LDL-C-lowering therapies in adults with HoFH to reduce LDL-C
• along with diet and other LDL-C lowering treatments in children aged 8 years and older with HeFH to reduce LDL-C

In addition to the U.S., Praluent is approved in 60 countries, including the European Union, Japan, Canada, Switzerland and Brazil.

About Regeneron’s VelocImmune Technology

Regeneron’s VelocImmune technology utilizes a proprietary genetically engineered mouse platform endowed with a genetically humanized immune system to produce optimized fully human antibodies. When Regeneron's President and Chief Scientific Officer George D. Yancopoulos was a graduate student with his mentor Frederick W. Alt in 1985, they were the first to  making such a genetically humanized mouse, and Regeneron has spent decades inventing and developing VelocImmune and related VelociSuite^® technologies. Dr. Yancopoulos and his team have used VelocImmune technology to create a substantial proportion of all original, FDA-approved fully human monoclonal antibodies currently available. This includes Evkeeza^® (evinacumab-dgnb), REGEN-COV^® (casirivimab and imdevimab), Dupixent^® (dupilumab), Libtayo^® (cemiplimab-rwlc), Praluent, Kevzara^® (sarilumab), Inmazeb^® (atoltivimab, maftivimab and odesivimab-ebgn) and Veopoz^® (pozelimab-bbfg). 

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION AND INDICATIONS

INDICATIONS

PRALUENT is an injectable prescription medicine used:

• in adults with cardiovascular disease to reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and certain types of chest pain conditions (unstable angina) requiring hospitalization.
• along with diet, alone or together with other cholesterol-lowering medicines in adults with high blood cholesterol levels called primary hyperlipidemia (including a type of high cholesterol called heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia [HeFH]), to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) or bad cholesterol.
• along with other LDL-lowering treatments in adults with a type of high cholesterol called homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, who need additional lowering of LDL-C.
• along with diet and other LDL-C lowering treatments in children aged 8 years and older with HeFH to reduce LDL-C.

It is not known if PRALUENT is safe and effective in children who are younger than 8 years of age or in children with other types of high cholesterol (hyperlipemias).

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Do not use PRALUENT if you are allergic to alirocumab or to any of the ingredients in PRALUENT.

Before you start using PRALUENT, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including allergies, and if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant or if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed.

Tell your healthcare provider or pharmacist about any medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, or herbal supplements.

PRALUENT can cause serious side effects, including allergic reactions that can be severe and require treatment in a hospital. Stop using PRALUENT and call your healthcare provider or go to the nearest hospital emergency room right away if you have any symptoms of an allergic reaction including a severe rash, redness, hives, severe itching, trouble breathing, or swelling of the face, lips, throat, or tongue.

The common side effects of PRALUENT include: redness, itching, swelling, or pain/tenderness at the injection site, flu or flu-like symptoms, diarrhea, muscle pain, muscle spasms and bruising. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.

Talk to your doctor about the right way to prepare and give yourself a PRALUENT injection and follow the “Instructions For Use” that comes with PRALUENT. In children aged 12 to 17 years, it is recommended that PRALUENT be given by or under the supervision of an adult. In children aged 8 to 11 years, PRALUENT should be given by a caregiver.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please click for full Prescribing Information.

About Regeneron

Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN) is a leading biotechnology company that invents, develops and commercializes life-transforming medicines for people with serious diseases. Founded and led for over 35 years by physician-scientists, our unique ability to repeatedly and consistently translate science into medicine has led to numerous FDA-approved treatments and product candidates in development, almost all of which were homegrown in our laboratories. Our medicines and pipeline are designed to help patients with eye diseases, allergic and inflammatory diseases, cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, hematologic conditions, infectious diseases and rare diseases.

Regeneron is accelerating and improving the traditional drug development process through our proprietary VelociSuite^® technologies, such as VelocImmune, which uses unique genetically humanized mice to produce optimized fully human antibodies and bispecific antibodies, and through ambitious research initiatives such as the Regeneron Genetics Center, which is conducting one of the largest genetics sequencing efforts in the world.

For more information, please visit or follow Regeneron on .

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