Weighing in on the marketing exclusivity provided by the Orphan Drug Act, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the FDA didn’t act beyond its statutory authority when it approved Avadel CNS Pharmaceuticals plc’s narcolepsy drug, Lumryz, for marketing during the exclusivity period granted to Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc’s Xywav, even though both drugs contained the same active ingredient, sodium oxybate, and were approved for the same disease or condition.
Now that Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc has final U.S. FDA approval for its narcolepsy drug Lumryz, the company has priced the sodium oxybate formulation to match the cost of competitor Xywav from Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc. Avadel said it plans to charge $64.67 per gram for Lumryz. The annual cost based a 9-gram dose would be about $212,441 per patient. Three daily dose levels, 6 grams, 7.5 grams and 9 grams, were evaluated during a phase III study the final approval was based on.
With generic competition on the horizon for its older sleep disorder drug Xyrem, Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc gained an added indication for its GABA B receptor agonist Xywav as the FDA approved it for idiopathic hypersomnia.
Dublin-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc’s phase III top-line win with Xywav (calcium, magnesium, potassium, and sodium oxybates) oral solution in adults with idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) provides the company with a needed foothold there as generics threaten its other sleep disorder drug, Xyrem (sodium oxybate).
It has proved to be a lackluster summer for the biopharmaceutical sector, with the BioWorld Biopharmaceutical index dropping about 2% in value during the past two months, in contrast to the general markets that have enjoyed a much stronger period.
The FDA has approved Xywav (calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium oxybates; JZP-258), an oxybate product for treating both cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness in narcolepsy patients ages 7 and older, from Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc.
