CVS Says New Cholesterol Drug Types Could Be Costly

A new type of cholesterol drug in development by Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMGN) and another by Sanofi SA (ADR) (NYSE: SNY) with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ: REGN) may be "very expensive," according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

The new drugs are expected to be effective by lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

According to CVS Health Corp (NYSE: CVS) executive vice president and chief medical officer Troyen Brennan, "This is a very prevalent disease and these are expected to be very expensive." Brennan added that spending could see "a significant increase."

The report suggested that the annual cost per patient could be $7,000 to $12,000. WSJ wrote that Amgen indicated the "pricing will reflect value and manufacturing complexity."

Richard Evans, an analyst at Sector & Sovereign Research, told WSJ that combined sales of the new drugs could exceed $2 billion in 2016 and after more data is released in 2017, sales could peak at $9.6 billion to $15 billion.

The final negotiations for the pricing have yet to settled and Evans felt that discounts would bring the annual patient cost down to a range of $3,000 to $4,000.