Ionis Pharma's rare metabolic disorder drug succeeds key study

[December 19, 2016]  (Reuters) - Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Monday its metabolic disorder drug for severe hypertriglyceridemia, characterized by elevated levels of a type of fat in the blood, met the main goal in a late-stage study.

The drug, volanesorsen, brought about a statistically significant 71.2 percent mean reduction in triglycerides after 13 weeks of treatment, compared with 0.9 percent in those who got the placebo, the company said.

Patients in the trial had two rare metabolic disorders: familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS) and familial partial lipodystrophy (FPL).

(Reporting by Akankshita Mukhopadhyay in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)

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