France's Economic Committee (CEPS) Authorizes Reimbursement Of Esbriet® (pirfenidone)

PARIS, Sept. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- InterMune, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITMN) today reported that the Comite Economique des Produits de Sante (CEPS) has granted reimbursement for Esbriet® (pirfenidone), making it the first medicine for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) to be reimbursed in France. The price of Esbriet is expected to be published in France's Journal Officiel in the fourth quarter of 2012; the final step in the reimbursement process for a new medicine in France. 

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Professor Vincent Cottin of the National Reference Center for Rare Pulmonary Diseases said, "IPF is a devastating disease with a mortality rate similar to many cancers. Until now, French patients with IPF had no licensed therapy available to them. Esbriet is a clear step forward in the treatment of patients suffering with mild to moderate IPF as it is the first medicine to slow the progression of this disease. I am very pleased that Esbriet will soon be available in France."

The CEPS authorized an ex-factory reimbursed price of 1.923,08€ for a four-week treatment pack of Esbriet, corresponding to 25,000€ per patient, per year (approximately $32,000 USD at current exchange rates). Esbriet will be reimbursed by the French National Health Insurance system for the treatment of mild to moderate forms of IPF in adults.

Esbriet will be reimbursed as a "Medicament d'Exception," which means that it will be reimbursed only for the labeled indication, defined previously by the Commission de Transparence of the French High Health Authority (CT) as IPF patients with forced vital capacity (FVC) > 50% and carbon monoxide diffusing capacity (DLco) > 35%.  

In agreement with CEPS, InterMune France will collect information in the form of a patient registry regarding the use of Esbriet in clinical practice. 

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