Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. stock slumped 4.8% in morning trade Friday after Anthem Inc. signaled that it wouldn’t cover the biotech’s $300,000 a year Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug, the first approved treatment for the rare degenerative disease. The new drug, eteplirsen, is “investigational and not medically necessary,” Anthem said in a medical policy dated Thursday. In explaining the decision, the health insurer reviewed eteplirsen’s long and controversial path to approval, including a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee’s vote against recommending approval, which the FDA ultimately disregarded, and the small population that the drug was studied in, or 13 boys with DMD. “In summary, the clinical benefit of treatment for DMD with eteplirsen, including improved motor function, has not been demonstrated,” the Anthem policy said. “Establishment of a clinical benefit is warranted in on-going clinical trials,” which the FDA required as part of the drug’s approval. Sarepta shares rose 180.3% over the last three weeks, compared with a 2.8% rise in the S&P 500 .
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