EXTON, Pa., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ — BioTrends has released the
third and final wave of LaunchTrends®: ACTEMRA.
Actemra (tocilizumab), marketed by Roche-Genentech, is the first
humanized IL-6 receptor inhibitor agent approved for
moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with an
inadequate response to one or more TNF-alpha inhibitors. This
report is derived from on-line survey responses from 75
rheumatologists and qualitative interviews with a subset of the
survey respondents.
Rheumatologists report using Actemra with clinical success in
patients who failed one or more TNF-alpha inhibitors despite the
need for more frequent blood monitoring of liver function, lipid
profile, and neutrophil and platelet counts. Each of these side
effect issues has had varying degrees of impact on physicians’
treatment patterns.
The breadth and depth of adoption of Actemra is greater than
that of other biologic analogs in RA at a six-month post-launch
timeframe. Patient origination is largely derived from the three
established TNF-alpha inhibitors (Amgen/Pfizer’s Enbrel, Abbott’s
Humira and Centocor Ortho Biotech’s Remicade), although
rheumatologists consider Actemra to compete more directly with
(i.e., displace) Remicade and Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Orencia.
The core efficacy messages of Actemra’s professional marketing
campaign resonate strongly with rheumatologists. Based on a
quantitative derived importance analysis supported by qualitative
interviews with physicians, these core messages have a direct
influence on physicians’ perceptions of biologic performance in
their clinical practice. In some instances, these efficacy
attributes are competitive advantages for Actemra over other
biologic agents.
This study represents the final wave of LaunchTrends:
Actemra. Trends are compared over time including trial and
usage of Actemra, patient types, line of therapy, product
perceptions, promotional detai
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