FDA OKs BioMarin's $700,000-a-year, life-changing drug for kids Rare disease drug developer BioMarin Pharamceutical Inc. won regulatory approval Thursday of a drug that promises to change the course of a fatal childhood neurodegenerative disease. San Rafael-based BioMarin's Brineura is the first drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat children with CLN2, a form of Batten disease. The drug costs $702,000 a year, though the company said it will offer hefty discounts. (San Francisco Business Times)