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Aegerion Pharmaceuticals CEO Marc Beer on getting approval for the company’s new drug Juxtapid.
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So I want -- imagine this a drug to treat a rare genetic disorder preventing cholesterol from being cleared from the body so -- piles up.
But it hurts children pulled the rug can save the lives of young people all over the world it now exists it's called trucks to -- but with the bills.
At the price of 300000 dollars per patient per year Willett -- in pharmaceuticals -- enough support.
We're bringing in mark beer -- Schering pharmaceuticals CEO to join me now a Fox Business exclusive and very Smart analyst believed.
That you will you're -- many many upgrades there's a lot of belief in this drug.
I wanna know about that moment when after fifteen years of drug development you got -- it was approved.
-- I tell you that that the the moment when I heard was on -- Friday night it was December 21 I was actually having dinner with my three children.
And I looked him in the whites of the eyes and said.
That if one of the three of you -- this disease I would be on the floor crying and and that's because the impact that this can make.
And young adults and and in patients that are -- with since this disease is truly transforming and this year is our year to now get this drug to the patients -- -- -- transformational year.
You can think of almost Biotech companies as development companies.
And for the last several years we've been working on development now we get the opportunity with it with an FDA approved product to get this critically lifesaving drug to the patients in need.
Mark a lot of people think of high cholesterol as an adult problem but this particular disease and wanna get the name right it's homicide has familial hyper cholesterol emea.
Is something that affects one in a million kids so it's not in huge numbers but if it's your kid you don't care what the numbers are critical sent shocks to -- tell me how the stroke -- Subject to -- is the first compound first medicine in this category.
It works differently than all the of the cholesterol medicines so cholesterol gets eaten up in -- liver so these kids have a defects of the -- our -- have a light switch.
And it goes on and off and it tells the body to -- up the cholesterol.
They don't have that light switch they're born with this disease is genetic disorder.
So all the other conventional medicines go in and they -- that light switch and -- at the -- trawl.
We act upstream from that in -- in essence -- the dietary uptake of cholesterol under the periphery so we stop the bad cholesterol.
From going in and creating a lethal levels -- its.
Can you then stop.
The bad things that come from high cholesterol and that is heart disease heart attacks in some cases do these children suffer early heart -- it's it's amazing when you hear the testimonies I recently was contacted by by a child a young adult I think -- -- a child he's twenty Christian.
Who who contacted us through FaceBook.
And he said to me and I sit Christian can you come -- and talk to us about what it's like to live with this disease.
And he said mr.
-- -- I set my alarm clock for 1201 every night.
And I go why do you set your alarm clock for 1201 he said I want my mom didn't know what night I pass away if I have a heart attack or stroke in the -- night.
That's the fear that these young adults live with every day.
They tell me that they wake up and when they're brushing their teeth this today the DM have a heart attack Christian that patient.
Had his fifth heart attack in the last twelve month.
See that's that's that and this is going to be something that really is a game changer but at 300000 dollars per treatment per year.
The question becomes are you getting pushed back from the patients or their parents or insurance companies.
-- the most important thing about this category of rare diseases is that you you develop products and medicines for ones that are devastating you know.
This -- devastating.
And then the medicine has to be corrective or disease modifying.
And we truly can take patients out of harm's way so it's not an oncology drug that can add three months for -- you know Christian on this therapy chronically.
We could we could allow him you know decades and potentially to meet his grandkids and that's what everybody -- organizations motivated to do.
I would say it's worth it then then the question becomes are you now very attractive target from some of the -- pharmaceutical companies and and would you look at that as an opportunity where there could be better distribution.
Or would you like to remain -- dependent.
You know I I address the question all the time because the -- and major Biotech companies are looking for drugs that are approved so now that the risk is behind us.
They look in in and then look for opportunities like this we have no interest of of that path.
My background is is is global.
Global infrastructure build of rare diseases so we're looking forward to building and were on our -- on our way now just last week we launched in Brazil.
We have our country managers in Japan.
And we have the full operation in in the US in a short two and a half years ago.
You know as myself and and one other person now great story we're -- were we're going you know country by country with this passion we have a -- of the patients waiting.
And we had -- model until it got approved now are saying the patients waiting still well we have to get -- to the patients a.
Big thank you to all of your scientists who work for fifteen years for this out mark -- -- curious pharmaceuticals the stock up up afforded they have 56%.
Year free here.
It's an unbelievable move and good luck with -- to -- thank you so much thanks -- up proud Miami of Ohio graduate by the way closing.
