The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a drug to treat hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a common type of inherited heart disease, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The agency approved Bristol-Myers Squibb's Camzyos (mavacamten) to treat people with symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which can include shortness of breath, chest pain, and abnormal heart rhythm. The Journal notes that about 1 in 500 people are affected by the condition, which is marked by the thickening of heart muscles, making it more difficult for it to pump blood. HCM can lead to blood clots, strokes, and even death — the condition is a common cause of sudden death among young people, including athletes, it adds.
Camzyos is a cardiac myosin inhibitor and, in the EXPLORER-HCM Phase 3 trial, led to improved heart function, according to Bristol-Myers Squibb.
The company has priced Camzyos at $89,500 a year, according to the Journal, which adds that the drug could bring in more than $2 billion in sales by 2026. The Journal notes Camzyos was a "centerpiece" of Bristol-Myers Squibb's 2020 acquisition of MyoKardia.