Press releases

Release issued 12th January 2010

Rheumatologists are unwilling to compromise on efficacy for a disease-modifying drug with a novel mechanism of action for patients who are refractory to TNF-alpha inhibitors, according to a new report from Decision Resources
 
January 12, 2010-Waltham, Mass.-Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that Amgen/Pfizer/Takeda's Enbrel will retain Decision Resources' proprietary clinical gold standard status for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis through 2018. Although Centocor Ortho Biotech/Merck/Mitsubishi Tanabe/Janssen's Simponi offers delivery advantages over Enbrel in formulation (potentially offered in both subcutaneous and intravenous formulations) and dosing frequency (once monthly compared with once or twice weekly for Enbrel), neither Simponi nor any other Rheumatoid Arthritis Biologic have the same effect as Enbrel in inhibiting/slowing structural damage progression.
 
The new report entitled Rheumatoid Arthritis: Opportunity Awaits Therapies that Meet Physicians' Efficacy Expectations in TNF-α Inhibitor-Refractory Patients also finds that rheumatologists are unwilling to compromise on efficacy or convenient delivery for a disease-modifying drug with a novel mechanism of action for patients who are refractory to Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF-alpha) inhibitors, even if such an agent entered the market at a lower price point than leading biologics. Surveyed U.S. rheumatologists stated that such a drug (that doesn't compromise on efficacy) could be prescribed to 63 percent of eligible U.S. patients. Surveyed European rheumatologists indicated that such an agent could be prescribed to 75 percent of eligible European patients.
 
"Because we believe the TNF-alpha inhibitors will remain the most prescribed treatments for patients who have failed or lost response to conventional disease-modifying Antirheumatic drugs, we profiled the opportunity for an agent in the TNF-alpha inhibitor-refractory population in our study. High price, intravenous delivery route and the potential for harmful side-effects are all drawbacks to current biologic agents used to treat TNF-alpha inhibitor-refractory patients. However, given a drug with incremental safety, delivery and even cost advantages, physicians are still unwilling to compromise on efficacy," stated Decision Resources Analyst Kyle Crowell.
 
Webinar
Members of the media are welcome to attend our upcoming webinar entitled Can Your Drug Gain An Edge in the TNF-Alpha Refractory Patient Segment of the Rheumatoid Arthritis Market? Exploring Drug Attributes Needed to Maximize Patient Share. This webinar will be held on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time. For more information, please contact Gisselle Morales at 781-296-2691 or by email at gmorales@dresources.com.
 
About the Report
Rheumatoid Arthritis: Opportunity Awaits Therapies that Meet Physicians' Efficacy Expectations in TNF-α Inhibitor-Refractory Patients is a DecisionBase 2010 report. DecisionBase 2010 is a decision-support tool that provides in-depth analysis of unmet need, physician expectations of new therapies and commercial dynamics to help pharmaceutical companies optimize their investments in drug development. 

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