Promising new drugs offer hope to prostate cancer patients
By Mia Burns (mia.burns@ubm.com)
In the United States, September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and independent analyst Datamonitor Healthcare has highlighted several promising new drugs in the pipeline with the potential to combat the increasing number of prostate cancer cases. As the number of new patients in the United States, Japan, and five major European Union markets is expected to increase by 20,000 to 600,000 in 2014, news of innovative drugs in the pipeline is encouraging.
Johnson & Johnson’s oral drug Zytiga has already seen global sales figures for the first half of 2013 hit $739 million. Zytiga is expected to be a blockbuster drug this year with estimated global sales reaching more than $1 billion. Other promising drugs include Medivation and Astellas’ Xtandi, and Bayer’s radioactive drug Xofigo, which the FDA has recently approved with European approval expected late this year.
A primary reason that will allow Zytiga to reach blockbuster status is the drug’s efficacy in both the pre- and post-chemotherapy settings, says Dr. Joe Hadden, senior analyst at Datamonitor Healthcare. “It was the first to market drug in the second-line (post-chemotherapy) metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer setting, essentially providing a further therapy option for patients who received first-line docetaxel where there wasn’t one before,” he told Med Ad News Daily. “Because it beat Xtandi to the market, Xtandi is essentially playing catch up. Zytiga is now approved in the first-line (pre-chemotherapy) setting. Overall it targets a large patient population, meaning the commercial potential is high. It’s also an oral therapy which patients may prefer over intravenous chemo. Its future as a blockbuster is also evident from sales figures.”
Dr. Hadden says that Xofigo does not pose a threat to Zytiga’s market share as it is indicated for use in a distinct patient population to Zytiga. “Xofigo is indicated for treatment of patients with symptomatic metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (patient’s experiencing pain due to bone metastases),” he told Med Ad News Daily. “For patients who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, physicians are likely to go with Zytiga or Xtandi. Xtandi and Zytiga already compete in second-line mCRPC and if Xtandi is approved in the first-line (pre-chemo) setting it will take some of Zytiga’s market share. Despite this, Zytiga is likely to remain the dominant brand for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer - it was first to market and Medivation/Astellas haven’t proved Xtandi to be a more efficacious drug, which is what would be required to put a serious dent in Zytiga sales.”
In addition, Dr. Hadden claims that Xofigo has demonstrated effectiveness in treating patients with symptomatic metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer where patients have pain from bone metastases. “As well as slowing down the advancement of the cancer, it is hoped the drug (Xofigo) can assist in alleviating pain and the intense use of opioid pain killers, to improve a patient’s quality of life,” he says. “Xtandi is an oral therapy that unlike key competitor Zytiga does not require the concomitant use of steroids. This is a plus as patients can potentially avoid the nasty side effects of steroids. However, it is unclear how much of an advantage this actually translates to, as patients are likely to be very sick and may have only months to live.”
Prostate cancer sufferers given hope with promising new drugs
In the United States, September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, and independent analyst Datamonitor Healthcare has highlighted several promising new drugs in the pipeline with the potential to combat the increasing number of prostate cancer cases. As the number of new patients in the United States, Japan, and five major European Union markets is expected to increase by 20,000 to 600,000 in 2014, news of innovative drugs in the pipeline is encouraging.
Johnson & Johnson’s oral drug Zytiga has already seen global sales figures for the first half of 2013 hit $739 million. Zytiga is expected to be a blockbuster drug this year with estimated global sales reaching more than $1 billion. Other promising drugs include Medivation and Astellas’ Xtandi, and Bayer’s radioactive drug Xofigo, which the FDA has recently approved with European approval expected late this year.
A primary reason that will allow Zytiga to reach blockbuster status is the drug’s efficacy in both the pre- and post-chemotherapy settings, says Dr. Joe Hadden, senior analyst at Datamonitor Healthcare. “It was the first to market drug in the second-line (post-chemotherapy) metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer setting, essentially providing a further therapy option for patients who received first-line docetaxel where there wasn’t one before,” he told Med Ad News Daily. “Because it beat Xtandi to the market, Xtandi is essentially playing catch up. Zytiga is now approved in the first-line (pre-chemotherapy) setting. Overall it targets a large patient population, meaning the commercial potential is high. It’s also an oral therapy which patients may prefer over intravenous chemo. Its future as a blockbuster is also evident from sales figures.”
Dr. Hadden says that Xofigo does not pose a threat to Zytiga’s market share as it is indicated for use in a distinct patient population to Zytiga. “Xofigo is indicated for treatment of patients with symptomatic metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (patient’s experiencing pain due to bone metastases),” he told Med Ad News Daily. “For patients who are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic, physicians are likely to go with Zytiga or Xtandi. Xtandi and Zytiga already compete in second-line mCRPC and if Xtandi is approved in the first-line (pre-chemo) setting it will take some of Zytiga’s market share. Despite this, Zytiga is likely to remain the dominant brand for metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer - it was first to market and Medivation/Astellas haven’t proved Xtandi to be a more efficacious drug, which is what would be required to put a serious dent in Zytiga sales.”
In addition, Dr. Hadden claims that Xofigo has demonstrated effectiveness in treating patients with symptomatic metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer where patients have pain from bone metastases. “As well as slowing down the advancement of the cancer, it is hoped the drug (Xofigo) can assist in alleviating pain and the intense use of opioid pain killers, to improve a patient’s quality of life,” he says. “Xtandi is an oral therapy that unlike key competitor Zytiga does not require the concomitant use of steroids. This is a plus as patients can potentially avoid the nasty side effects of steroids. However, it is unclear how much of an advantage this actually translates to, as patients are likely to be very sick and may have only months to live.”
Prostate cancer sufferers given hope with promising new drugs
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