Amylyx prices newly approved ALS drug at $158,000 per year

(Reuters) -Amylyx Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Friday it has set the list price of its newly approved drug to slow the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at about $158,000 per year in the United States.

The drug has been priced at around $12,500 per 28-day prescription, resulting in the wholesale cost of $158,000 per year, Chief Commercial Officer Margaret Olinger said in an investors' conference call, adding that the price is below Japanese firm Mitsubishi Tanabe's Radicava -- the most recently approved drug by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"We believe that the price selected balances the needs of and input from the ALS community and will be supported by insurers" Olinger said.

Amylyx also plans to provide the drug, which will be sold under the brand name Relyvrio, at no cost to ALS patients in the U.S. that are uninsured or underinsured, if they meet certain financial eligibility criteria and have exhausted all other options, Olinger said.

The drug was approved by the U.S. FDA on Thursday, making it the third ALS drug to be given a nod by the regulator after Mitsubishi Tanabe's Radicava and the generic drug riluzole.

(Reporting by Leroy Leo and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)