Amryt Pharma reaches agreement with French authorities over Lojuxta

Orphan drug company Amryt Pharma has reached agreement with France's Comité économique des produits de santé (CEPS) to reimburse ‘Lojuxta’ (lomitapide) for the treatment of adult patients with homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia (HoFH) in France.

The AIM-traded firm said that, from the first quarter of 2019, adult HoFH patients suffering with the ultra-rare, life-threatening genetic condition could receive a 'first in class' medicine to reduce low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, often referred to as 'bad cholesterol', when used as an adjunctive therapy to other lipid lowering medications and where available, apheresis.

It said the clinical value of Lojuxta in managing adult HoFH had been demonstrated in clinical trials and in the real world.

The approval now meant that Lojuxta was available across all five of the EU's major markets - France, the UK, Italy, Germany and Spain - either by responding to named patient requests or on a fully reimbursed basis and is in line with Amryt's strategy to make Lojuxta available to more patients across Amryt's licensed territories.

“A clear aim in continuing the positive momentum in Lojuxta revenues is to ensure reimbursement in our core territories,” said Amryt chief executive officer Joe Wiley.

“Following closely on from our recent approval with the NHS in England, where we have already started treating patients, we are now very pleased to be able to make Lojuxta available to adult HoFH patients in France.”