Sanofi announced on Wednesday two approvals for its drugs in North America. Rheumatoid arthritis drug, which it has made in cooperation with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, has been approved by Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Xyzal Allergy 24HR.
Snofi has said that Health Canada has approved Kevzara (sarilumab), an interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor antibody, for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have had an inadequate response or intolerance to one or more biologic or non-biologic Disease-Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs).
RA is a systemic inflammatory disease that can affect multiple joints in the body. The disease impacts 70 million adults worldwide. In Canada alone, RA affects approximately 300,000 people, the company said. The company did not specify when will the drug be available to patients in Canada.
The FDA approved Xyzal is Sanofi’s OTC drug for the relief of symptoms connected with seasonal and year-round allergies. The company expects to launch it in Spring 2017.