Genzyme presents cholesterol drug data

Globe Staff

Genzyme Corp., the Cambridge biotechnology company that a French drug company wants to buy, said that it told a society of cardiologists that tests for its potential cholesterol drug have yielded encouraging results.

The drug candidate is called mipomersen, and Genzyme is collaborating on mipomersen with Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. of California.

In a press release, the two companies said that data from a Phase 3 study of mipomersen were just presented at the European Society of Cardiology's Congress 2010 in Sweden.

"The study met its primary endpoint with a 28 percent reduction in LDL-cholesterol, compared with an increase of 5 percent for placebo," the companies said.

The press release included a statement from Paula Soteropoulos, vice president and general manager of Genzyme's cardiovascular business.

"Having these data presented is a great milestone for the mipomersen program," Soteropoulos said. "The data underscore our belief that mipomersen has the potential to help those familial hypercholesterolemia patients who are 'left behind' by current therapies, and are in need of new treatment options."

Familial hypercholesterolemia, or FH, is one of the most common genetic disorders, and results in elevated LDL cholesterol levels, the press release said.

Much of the data presented to the congress was included in a press
release that the two companies issued in February.

In other Genzyme news, the company said yesterday that it might be open to being sold if the price were right. France's Sanofi-Aventis has offered to buy Genzyme for $18.5 billion, but Genzyme has rejected that offer as too low. To read a story in today's Globe about Genzyme, please click here.