Will People Switch Their Factor Medication?

Biogen Idec currently has two products on the market – Alprolix for hemophilia B and Eloctate for hemophilia A. A recent article titled Biogen Hemophilia Drugs Launch into the Unknown by Amy Reeves of Investor’s Business Daily discusses the viewpoint of interested patients actually making the switch and trying the new drugs or staying put with what they are currently using. Since the beginning of recombinant hemophilia products, Baxter’s Advate (hemophilia A) and Pfizer’s BeneFix (hemophilia B) have dominated their markets in patients with such bleeding disorders. This new class of pharmaceuticals from Biogen Idec are the first to come along in over 15 years.

With the estimate of close to 500,000 people suffering from hemophilia in the world, will the yet to be diagnosed and currently diagnosed feel the need to try the new set of drugs if possible?

There is an estimated 3,500 to 4,000 patients worldwide who have developed inhibitors due to recombinant products and there is more of a non-compliance issue with patients who are put on a prophylactic regimen for their drugs. As a result, only about 6% of patients worldwide are taking this treatment. In the United States, the number of those adhering to prophy are larger but still a minority. The prophylactic regimen can also be especially difficult for children. There is no guarantee patients will switch to newer factor treatments as they become available this summer and into the early part of 2015 due to worries of some type of inhibitor development.  However, if any medications are more likely to be switched, long lasting medications with few to no bleeds are very appealing nonetheless.

Photo Credit – Biogen Idec

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