New report on launch trend of Roche's Actemra

BioTrends is pleased to announce the fielding of a new syndicated report, LaunchTrends®: ACTEMRA. Roche, Inc. announced that they received FDA approval for Actemra (generic name: tocilizumab) on January 8th. This represents the first IL-6 receptor inhibitor agent approved for Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA); Actemra is approved for adult patients with moderately-to-severely active RA who have had an inadequate response to one or more TNF antagonist therapies. Actemra represents the fourth IV Infusion product in the RA Market and the first infusion product with monthly maintenance dosing.

Initial reactions to Actemra, gathered from BioTrends recently completed LaunchTrends: Simponi and Cimzia report, suggest that interest in and awareness of Actemra is extremely high. Rheumatologists are excited to have a product with an alternative mechanism of action in a market that has become crowded with TNF-alpha inhibitors. Early indicators gathered in the earlier LaunchTrends report suggests that Actemra poses the greatest threat to infused biologics such as Centocor Ortho's Remicade (infliximab), BMS's Orencia (abatacept) and Roche's own Rituxan (rituximab). In another recent BioTrends publication, ChartTrends®: Biologics in RA, this demand was further validated among patients who were not achieving optimal results on their current biologic.

LaunchTrends: Actemra is a three wave primary market research study that consists of a quantitative on-line survey and qualitative telephone interviews. In total, 300 Rheumatologists will participate in the research. This report will capture launch effectiveness at one month, three months, and six months post launch. The reports are designed to assess trial and use of Actemra, obstacles to use, typical patient types, product perceptions, promotional efforts/messages, and satisfaction with the product relative to other agents. The first wave of the study will field in mid-February with the results available in early March 2010. Clients committing to the study prior to fielding will be allowed to include several proprietary questions in each wave of the study.