Top Stories

Following an October 2012 recommendation by the U.S. FDA's Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee, the FDA has approved lomitapide for patients with homozygous FH. Lomitapide, known by the brand name Juxtapid, is produced by Aegerion Pharmaceuticals.

On Dec. 13, the European Medicines Agency announced that it failed to grant marketing approval for Kynamro (mipomersen sodium) due to concerns about its side effects. Kynamro has been in the Sanofi/Isis Pharmaceuticals pipeline as a therapy intended to treat homozygous FH. The drug is under development by Genzyme, which is owned by Sanofi. In October, the U.S. FDA's Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 9-6 in favor of the treatment. The U.S. FDA is expected make a decision on Kynamro by the end of January 2013.

Experiencing side effects such as muscle-related pain or weakness was the top reason why patients stopped taking statins, according to results from a large survey.

MedPage Today - June 22, 2012