WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 The maker of a much-debated drug for Lou Gehrig鈥檚 disease said Friday its therapy failed to help patients in a large follow-up study, but stopped short of committing to follow through on a prior pledge to pull the drug from the U.S. market.
The Food and Drug Administration in September 2022, following a by patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a fatal muscle-wasting disease.
Amylyx said Friday it would discuss its plans for Relyvrio with patients and the FDA, which 鈥渕ay include voluntarily withdrawing鈥 the drug. Executives said in a statement they were 鈥渟urprised and disappointed鈥 by the results and hoped to announce their plans in the next two months.
The latest company study showed that the drug did not slow the disease compared with a dummy treatment. The drug also failed to show improvement on any secondary measures, such as muscle strength.
Amylyx鈥檚 medication is part of a of for deadly, diseases that have won FDA approval in recent years despite questionable proof that they work.
The 2022 approval was mainly based on results from one small, mid-stage study that was by some of the agency鈥檚 own internal scientists. An outside committee of experts also initially, before being swayed to back it at a follow-up meeting requested by patients. At the time, Amylyx noted it was continuing a larger follow-up study of more than 600 patients that would provide further data on the drug.
In a highly unusual move, company executives at the meeting told FDA regulators they would voluntarily pull their drug from the market if follow-up research didn't confirm that it helps. That commitment seemed to reassure FDA's advisers who voted in favor of the drug's approval, despite the questionable data.
The FDA has no formal process to quickly force the drug off the market. That鈥檚 because regulators granted Relyvrio full approval, rather than preliminary approval, which is often used for promising but unproven drugs for diseases that are hard to treat.
Amylyx鈥檚 drug did not qualify for that type of approval because its studies are mostly based on patient-reported questionnaires and other data that FDA does not use to expedite drug approvals.
At the time of the decision, FDA officials explained that 鈥渞egulatory flexibility鈥 was appropriate for approving Relyvrio, 鈥済iven the serious and life-threatening nature of ALS and the substantial unmet need.鈥
ALS gradually destroys the nerve cells and connections needed to walk, talk, speak and breathe. Most patients die within three to five years of a diagnosis.
In the months before the decision the FDA faced from ALS patients, advocates and members of Congress.
Relyvrio comes as a powder that combines two older drugs: a prescription medication for liver disorders and a dietary supplement associated with traditional Chinese medicine.
Amylyx faced criticism for pricing the drug at $158,000 for a year鈥檚 supply. Sales have been lackluster since the launch in late 2022, with some patients discontinuing the medicine after only a few months.
Shares of Cambridge, Mass.-based Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc. plunged more than 83% Friday morning.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
