Investing.com -- A trio of pharmaceutical companies embroiled in a race for control of the cholesterol drug market displayed mixed results on Friday ahead of this weekend's American College of Cardiology's annual expo in San Diego.
The three-day conference will feature sessions on nearly a dozen clinical learning pathways, including topics in acute coronary syndromes, congenital heart disease, critical care cardiology, sports cardiology and vascular medicine.
Amgen Inc (NASDAQ:AMGN), the world's largest independent biotechnology firm, has plans to present a lecture on Repatha, its investigational cholesterol-lowering medication, at the conference.
"As we head into a milestone-filled year for our cardiovascular pipeline, we are eager to share safety analyses and data exploring the effect of Repatha on LDL cholesterol," Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen, said in a statement. "We are working with regulatory agencies to bring cardiovascular therapies to patients which we believe will provide new options for those with high cholesterol."
Amgen Inc. gained 0.01 or 0.01% to 154.26 on Friday. Sanofi (PARIS:SASY) SA., the world's fifth-largest pharmaceutical company, gained 0.49 or 1.03% to close at 47.07, while Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:REGN) rose more than 6.00 points to 431.00.
Last month, Sanofi and Regeneron collaborated on a nationwide Calorie Counts program that encouraged Americans to be more vigilant about their awareness of LDL-C, also regarded as the more problematic form of high cholesterol. The survey of 12,000 Americans found that more than 70% of subjects were unaware of the level of LDL-C in their bodies.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration could approve cholesterol drug therapies from all three companies at some point this year.