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- In a bid to take on well-established rivals, Novartis (NYSE:NVS) is formulating a non-traditional sales strategy to promote the company’s cholesterol-busting therapy Leqvio, The Wall Street Journal reports.
- Unlike a promotional strategy reliant on sales representatives, the Swiss pharma giant plans to sell Leqvio targeting 200 hospital systems across the nation.
- Through the so-called population health approach, the company expects the health care systems through electronic health records to assist it in identifying the patients who could qualify for the drug after failing to control their cholesterol with current therapies.
- For decades, patients took statins to control the type of cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, or LDL targeted by Leqvio.
- However, the twice-yearly injection is said to be more powerful than statins and competes against Repatha from Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Praluent from Sanofi (NASDAQ:SNY) and Regeneron (NASDAQ:REGN), two other drugs with a similar mechanism of action to Leqvio.
- With Repatha and Praluent requiring self-injection every two or four weeks, Novartis (NVS) expects Leqvio will have the edge with twice-yearly dosing.
- In late 2020, Leqvio, also called inclisiran, was approved in Europe.