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42.704.144 von pedestrian am 06.02.12
10:11:01pfizer bringt alzheimer medikament in phase
3.
Pfizer Inc research chief Mikael Dolsten said the company's
experimental treatment for Alzheimer's disease is the drug
industry's "best chance" to delay progression of the memory-robbing
illness.
Dolsten, speaking at the BIO CEO and investor conference in New
York, stopped short of predicting whether the drug being developed
with Johnson & Johnson would meet that goal.
"This is so far the best chance the industry has for disease
modification in Alzheimer's," he said. Dolsten said Pfizer's drug,
bapineuzumab, had far more complete and compelling data from
already finished mid-stage clinical trials than Eli Lilly and Co's
solanezumab.
Both companies plan to release Phase III data in the second half of
this year from their respective large trials. The drugs are meant
to be the first to slow progression of Alzheimer's, a disease that
affects an estimated 5 million Americans and more than 35 million
people worldwide.
"Bapineuzumab was the only one of these two that had significant
Phase II data," Dolsten said, referring to the relatively brief
12-week trials Lilly conducted on solanezumab before moving it into
large late-stage studies.
By contrast, Pfizer's Phase II studies of bapineuzumab lasted 18
months, better enabling Pfizer to pick appropriate doses of the
medicine in far larger ongoing Phase III studies.
But mixed results were seen among patients receiving bapineuzumab
in those smaller earlier studies. Patients in one mid-stage trial
had an almost 25 percent lower accumulation in the brain of amyloid
plaques -- a suspected cause of Alzheimer's disease -- than those
receiving placebo injections. But they achieved no cognitive
benefits. And patients receiving high doses of the Pfizer drug in
another mid-stage study had worrisome brain swelling.
Asked in a recent interview if Lilly's short Phase II studies might
hurt its drug's chance of succeeding in bigger Phase III trials,
Dr. Eric Siemers, head of Lilly's Alzheimer's program, said, "The
jury's still out; we don't know if it was the right choice."
But Siemers told Reuters the shorter trials enabled Lilly to get
solanezumab into late-stage trials far more quickly and at far less
expense, hopefully without compromising future results.
Many investors consider bapineuzumab and Lilly's rival injectable
drug long shots because they treat patients that already have
developed mild to moderate symptoms, such as memory loss and
inability to perform daily chores, and therefore may have suffered
irreversible damage to neurons and brain tissue.
Dolsten cautioned that Alzheimer's patients would probably need to
be treated at earlier stages of the disease to produce the most
beneficial results, a prospect he sees likely within the next five
years.
Pfizer is counting on newer drugs to deliver revenue needed to
offset plunging sales of its Lipitor cholesterol fighter, which has
faced cheaper generics since November.
They include Prevnar 13, an improved form of its Prevnar vaccine to
prevent infections with streptococcus bacteria. The U.S. Food and
Drug Administration in December approved its use for adults aged 50
and older, greatly widening the market for the product, which had
been approved only in children.
Dolsten said Pfizer expects data by next year from late-stage
trials testing whether Prevnar 13 prevents pneumonia in adults. The
$3.3 billion-a-year vaccine could get a big commercial boost if the
trials succeed, especially in preventing pneumonia among the
elderly, he said.
The world's biggest drugmaker also has high hopes for tofacitinib,
an experimental pill that treats rheumatoid arthritis through a new
approach and is awaiting U.S. approval.
The FDA is slated to decide on tofacitinib by August, but Dolsten
said an FDA advisory panel of outside experts is likely to weigh
the drug's safety and effectiveness beforehand.
"We expect a dialogue about how this drug will be used," Dolsten
said, given its new mechanism of action. It is the first in an
emerging class of drugs known as JAK inhibitors that block a
protein associated with inflammation.
The research chief also expressed confidence Pfizer will eventually
develop an anti-smoking vaccine and important new treatments for
cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Last year, Pfizer said it would slash its annual research budget by
as much as $2 billion in order to deliver on earnings goals.
Dolsten on Tuesday said Pfizer wants to remain a research leader
but will likely increasingly team up with other drugmakers, and
rely more heavily on contract research organizations (CROs) to
conduct its large late-stage trials.
Increasing numbers of those trials will be conducted in distant
emerging markets. But Dolsten said safeguards will ensure that
outside contractors do not cut corners, and thereby sacrifice
quality controls in order to deliver speedy results.