Genzyme's Kynamro to cost $176,000 annually

Genzyme Corp. said hypercholesterolemia drug Kynamro mipomersen will cost about $3,380 per weekly injection, or about $176,000 annually. FDA approved the drug late Tuesday as an addition to lipid-lowering medications and diet to treat homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (hoFH). The unit of Sanofi (Euronext:SAN; NYSE:SNY) said it expects to launch Kynamro in four to six weeks (see BioCentury Extra, Jan. 29).

Genzyme has rights to the second-generation antisense inhibitor of apolipoprotein B-100 (APOB-100) mRNA from Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:ISIS), which was up $1.31 (10%) to $14.69 on Wednesday. ...