Study: Biogen hemophilia drugs will allow market to thrive
By Mia Burns (mia.burns@ubm.com)
Eloctate and Alprolix, Biogen Idec’s hemophilia drug candidates, are positioned to capture a significant share of the hemophilia market and also grow the market steadily by increasing prophylactic treatment, according to ZoomRx, a healthcare market research consultancy. Both drugs are intended to treat hemophilia A and hemophilia B. As long-acting therapies, both products will significantly improve the quality of life of patients by reducing the number of infusions that patients require to manage this chronic condition. In May, FDA accepted Biogen’s biologics license application for Eloctate, and the company partnered with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum in the R&D and marketing of Alprolix in hemophilia B and Eloctate in hemophilia A. FDA accepted the BLA for Alprolix in March.
ZoomRx conducted the study with more than 150 physicians who treat hemophilia during June and July of 2013. The company claims that the study reveals physicians who treat hemophilia perceive Eloctate and Alprolix to have similar efficacy and safety profiles as the existing therapies in the market, but expect them to perform better in terms of patient convenience. Physicians indicated that with improved convenience, patients are more likely to switch to a prophylactic treatment regimen, where they use the drug regularly in a preventive manner instead of using the drug only when a bleed occurs. Patients using prophylactic treatment consume significantly larger unit volumes of the drug, hence contributing to market growth, according to the study.
“The hemophilia commercial effectiveness trackers (in both hemophilia A and B) were primarily launched to better understand the impact that several new therapies will have on the hemophilia market in the coming years,” says Hayes Smith, manager client services, ZoomRx. “Hemophilia A and B patients will soon have the option to treat their disease with long-acting therapies that are far more convenient therapies than what is currently available. Despite the massive potential market disruption, there was limited research conducted with physicians prior to our commercial effectiveness trackers.”
Smith also told Med Ad News Daily, “The research certainly met our expectations. We recruited more than 150 hemophilia-treating physicians to participate in both the A and B hemophilia studies. From these physicians, we collected valuable insights about the current hemophilia market, as well as insights about how that market will likely change once the first generation of long-acting therapies are available. The hemophilia A and B reports have been purchased and highly praised by many of the key hemophilia therapy manufacturers.”
ZoomRx claims that only 41 percent of patients are likely to switch long-acting therapies. Patient education could be one route to increase the amount of patients who are willing to make the switch, Smith says. “The long-acting therapies will primarily differentiate from current therapies on convenience-based attributes,” he told Med Ad News Daily. “Physicians tend to largely de-prioritize convenience attributes, all other things being equal. Thus, patients proactively seeking long-acting therapies (and urging their physicians to switch) will be critical to adoption. There is an indirect impact of improving convenience, though. The ability to treat more conveniently will likely enable patients to be more compliant with the chronic dosing schedule necessary for adequate disease control. Demonstrable compliance improvements may be an important driver to raising physicians’ adoption. Finally, insurance coverage and cost may be important barriers to long-acting therapy adoption. Manufacturers will need to ensure that physicians and patients are no more burdened by the cost or insurance coverage of long-acting therapies than they are with current therapies.”
Cost and insurance coverage are named as potential barriers to the rapid adoption of long-acting therapies, according to the study, and Smith mentions how this is the case even before the Affordable Care Act is implemented. ZoomRx states in the conclusion of a sample report that the study represents the first wave in the company’s hemophilia A commercial effectiveness tracker. The subsequent waves will explore the evolving perception and use of Eloctate, progression of the other long-acting therapies, and other key events in the hemophilia A market.
“We will learn much about how formularies will respond to these long-acting therapies shortly after the launch of the first long-acting therapies, mostly likely Biogen Idec’s Eloctate and Alprolix,” Smith told Med Ad News Daily. “Subsequent waves will be based on the latest hemophilia access knowledge and will be targeted to understand how physicians will behave under these conditions. The subsequent waves will occur after certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act are implemented and will take any pertinent changes to insurance coverage in to consideration. Currently, there are no specific aspects of the Affordable Care Act implementation that will have a major impact on long-acting therapies adoption.”
Biogen Idec’s ELOCTATE and ALPROLIX will grow the hemophilia market, a ZoomRx study finds
Eloctate and Alprolix, Biogen Idec’s hemophilia drug candidates, are positioned to capture a significant share of the hemophilia market and also grow the market steadily by increasing prophylactic treatment, according to ZoomRx, a healthcare market research consultancy. Both drugs are intended to treat hemophilia A and hemophilia B. As long-acting therapies, both products will significantly improve the quality of life of patients by reducing the number of infusions that patients require to manage this chronic condition. In May, FDA accepted Biogen’s biologics license application for Eloctate, and the company partnered with Swedish Orphan Biovitrum in the R&D and marketing of Alprolix in hemophilia B and Eloctate in hemophilia A. FDA accepted the BLA for Alprolix in March.
ZoomRx conducted the study with more than 150 physicians who treat hemophilia during June and July of 2013. The company claims that the study reveals physicians who treat hemophilia perceive Eloctate and Alprolix to have similar efficacy and safety profiles as the existing therapies in the market, but expect them to perform better in terms of patient convenience. Physicians indicated that with improved convenience, patients are more likely to switch to a prophylactic treatment regimen, where they use the drug regularly in a preventive manner instead of using the drug only when a bleed occurs. Patients using prophylactic treatment consume significantly larger unit volumes of the drug, hence contributing to market growth, according to the study.
“The hemophilia commercial effectiveness trackers (in both hemophilia A and B) were primarily launched to better understand the impact that several new therapies will have on the hemophilia market in the coming years,” says Hayes Smith, manager client services, ZoomRx. “Hemophilia A and B patients will soon have the option to treat their disease with long-acting therapies that are far more convenient therapies than what is currently available. Despite the massive potential market disruption, there was limited research conducted with physicians prior to our commercial effectiveness trackers.”
Smith also told Med Ad News Daily, “The research certainly met our expectations. We recruited more than 150 hemophilia-treating physicians to participate in both the A and B hemophilia studies. From these physicians, we collected valuable insights about the current hemophilia market, as well as insights about how that market will likely change once the first generation of long-acting therapies are available. The hemophilia A and B reports have been purchased and highly praised by many of the key hemophilia therapy manufacturers.”
ZoomRx claims that only 41 percent of patients are likely to switch long-acting therapies. Patient education could be one route to increase the amount of patients who are willing to make the switch, Smith says. “The long-acting therapies will primarily differentiate from current therapies on convenience-based attributes,” he told Med Ad News Daily. “Physicians tend to largely de-prioritize convenience attributes, all other things being equal. Thus, patients proactively seeking long-acting therapies (and urging their physicians to switch) will be critical to adoption. There is an indirect impact of improving convenience, though. The ability to treat more conveniently will likely enable patients to be more compliant with the chronic dosing schedule necessary for adequate disease control. Demonstrable compliance improvements may be an important driver to raising physicians’ adoption. Finally, insurance coverage and cost may be important barriers to long-acting therapy adoption. Manufacturers will need to ensure that physicians and patients are no more burdened by the cost or insurance coverage of long-acting therapies than they are with current therapies.”
Cost and insurance coverage are named as potential barriers to the rapid adoption of long-acting therapies, according to the study, and Smith mentions how this is the case even before the Affordable Care Act is implemented. ZoomRx states in the conclusion of a sample report that the study represents the first wave in the company’s hemophilia A commercial effectiveness tracker. The subsequent waves will explore the evolving perception and use of Eloctate, progression of the other long-acting therapies, and other key events in the hemophilia A market.
“We will learn much about how formularies will respond to these long-acting therapies shortly after the launch of the first long-acting therapies, mostly likely Biogen Idec’s Eloctate and Alprolix,” Smith told Med Ad News Daily. “Subsequent waves will be based on the latest hemophilia access knowledge and will be targeted to understand how physicians will behave under these conditions. The subsequent waves will occur after certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act are implemented and will take any pertinent changes to insurance coverage in to consideration. Currently, there are no specific aspects of the Affordable Care Act implementation that will have a major impact on long-acting therapies adoption.”
Biogen Idec’s ELOCTATE and ALPROLIX will grow the hemophilia market, a ZoomRx study finds
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