The bull case for Amgen’s (AMGN) new cholesterol drug Repatha continued to be built Tuesday, as Nomura raised long-term estimates on the drug’s sales while UBS defended its optimistic thesis for both Repatha and rival drug Praluent, from Sanofi (SNY) and Regeneron (REGN). After surveying 30 cardiologists who were enthusiastic about the new anti-PCSK9 drug class, Nomura analyst Ian Somaiya hiked his 2018 estimate on Repatha to $2.1 billion from
Amgen (AMGN) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) were both up Tuesday on upgrades from UBS after a survey suggested sales of their new cholesterol drugs could be even bigger than expected. Analyst Matthew Roden raised his rating on Regeneron all the way to buy from sell, and on Amgen to buy from neutral, after surveying 50 U.S. and European physicians about their attitudes toward the new PCSK9 inhibitors both companies have launched this summer.
The FDA approved Amgen’s (AMGN) cholesterol drug Repatha late Thursday, giving it a similar label to a recently approved rival from Regeneron (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY), but a slightly lower price. The agency said it had cleared Repatha, one of the new PCSK9 inhibitor class of drugs, for patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH), homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HoFH), and patients with heart disease who need more