Aegerion gets EU vote on cholesterol disorder drug
Aegerion says EU panel recommends approval for cholesterol disorder drug Lojuxta
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) -- Aegerion Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday that a European Union advisory panel recommended its drug Lojuxta be approved as a treatment for a rare inherited disease that causes extremely high levels of bad cholesterol.
Regulators are expected to make a decision on the drug during the third quarter. Lojuxta, or lomitapide, is intended to treat a condition called homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. The pill is intended to be used along with a low-fat diet and other methods intended to reduce "bad" LDL cholesterol.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug in December. In the U.S. it is marketed under the name Juxtapid.
Shares of Aegerion rose $4.30, or 6.2 percent, to $73.64 in morning trading. The stock has doubled in value since early March and early Friday it reached an all-time high of $74.49.
