Survey shows majority of rheumatologists would prescribe Actemra drug for rheumatoid arthritis

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that 98 percent of surveyed rheumatologists indicate they will prescribe Roche's Actemra, an interleukin-6 inhibitor, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis following the agent's expected launch in 2010. When asked why they would prescribe the drug, more than 60 percent of these rheumatologists cite the fact that, in clinical trials, Actemra has exhibited efficacy comparable to the efficacy demonstrated in separate trials for TNF-alpha inhibitors such as Amgen/Pfizer's Enbrel and Abbott's Humira, the two leading agents in the rheumatoid arthritis drug market.

The new Physician & Payer Forum report entitled The Rheumatoid Arthritis Biologics Landscape: Differentiation and Reimbursement in a Crowded Market finds that the majority of surveyed rheumatologists indicate that they will welcome the availability of Actemra because interleukin inhibition represents a promising novel mechanism of action in rheumatoid arthritis treatment. The report also finds that the market potential for novel oral agents such as Pfizer's CP-690550 is significant as, on average, surveyed rheumatologists estimate that more than half of patients treated with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs fail treatment and require subsequent therapy with a different drug class.

"More than two-thirds of surveyed rheumatologists expect that the majority of patients who require therapy with a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug would choose oral dosing over subcutaneous delivery," said Decision Resources Analyst Joanna Kim, M.Ed.

If CP-690550 were priced at a discount of greater than 35 percent as compared with Humira, more than half of surveyed managed care organizations' (MCOs) pharmacy directors would assign CP-690550 to tier 2 of their formularies. The report also finds that, with regard to Actemra, 75 percent of surveyed MCOs indicate that they will likely cover Actemra while 80 percent and 85 percent of surveyed MCOs expect to cover its competitors, Genmab/GlaxoSmithKline's Arzerra and Biogen Idec/Roche's ocrelizumab, respectively.

The Rheumatoid Arthritis Biologics Landscape: Differentiation and Reimbursement in a Crowded Market is based on a U.S. survey of 100 rheumatologists and 20 MCO pharmacy directors. Their responses were compared to assess similarities and differences of opinion regarding clinical, economic and scientific factors.

Webinar

Media members are welcome to attend our upcoming webinar entitled Actemra and CP-690550 in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Can a Novel Agent Revolutionize Established Treatment Patterns? This webinar will be held on November 18, 2009 at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time. For more information, please contact Christopher Comfort at [email protected].