Sanofi and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals,Inc. announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has accepted for review the Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) for Praluent (alirocumab).

Praluent is an investigational monoclonal antibody targeting PCSK9 (proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 )that is intended for the treatment of patients with hypercholesterolemia.

The MAA for Praluent contains data from more than 5,000 patients, including, 10 phase 3 ODYSSEY trials. Together, with additional ongoing studies including ODYSSEY OUTCOMES, the ODYSSEY clinical trial program will include more than 23,500 patients at more than 2,000 study centers in double-blind, randomised,placebo-and active-controlled trials ranging from 24 weeks toapproximately 5 years.

A biologics license application (BLA) for Praluent was submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration in the fourth quarter of 2014.

The EMA and US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have conditionally accepted Praluent as the trade name for alirocumab.The safety and efficacy of alirocumab have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.