UK’s drug-cost watchdog recommends Alnylam’s heart disease drug

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(Reuters) -The UK’s drug cost-effectiveness watchdog has recommended Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ heart disease drug, ensuring access for patients through the government health system in England and Wales, the company said on Friday.

The country’s drug regulator had approved the injectable drug, Amvuttra, in July to treat ATTR-CM, a condition where faulty transthyretin proteins accumulate in the heart, potentially causing the organ to fail. It is also approved to treat nerve damage related to the disease.

Analysts have pointed to the drug’s potential to become the new standard of care in ATTR-CM for its ability to reduce the production of the disease-causing protein at its source, unlike rival Pfizer’s Vyndaqel and BridgeBio’s Attruby, which stabilize transthyretin production.

The final guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is expected next month and will enable routine NHS access to the drug for eligible patients.

There are about 1,500 patients in the UK, Alnylam CEO Yvonne Greenstreet said, adding that it is an important market for the company “in terms of clinical trials … (and) infrastructure that we have here”.

Amvuttra, chemically called vutrisiran, brought in global sales of $685.3 million in the quarter ended September 30, more than double the revenue from a year earlier.  

The U.S. health regulator had expanded the drug’s approval earlier this year to treat ATTR-CM, giving it access to a multi-billion dollar market.

“The U.S. is the largest market and Japan is also a significant market for us,” Greenstreet said.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru and Bhanvi Satija in London; Editing by Alan Barona)