Pegasys' only competition will be PEG-Intron, a very similar drug made by Kenilworth, N.
Other doctors--and the FDA--are increasingly saying the same thing, and not just with Peg-Intron and Pegasys.
For Roche (otc: RHHBY - news - people ), Pegasys is crucial.
Now, the real battle begins, as Roche positions Pegasys to compete with Schering-Plough 's PEG-Intron.
To convince doctors that Pegasys is a superior treatment, Roche is eating its cost.
Pegasys and PEG-Intron last longer, are more effective and have fewer side effects than the older treatments.
Pegasys' approval sets the stage for a fierce marketing battle between Basel, Switzerland-based Roche and Kenilworth, N.
Basel, Switzerland-based Roche has started a price war between its hepatitis C drug, Pegasys, and Schering-Plough's Peg-Intron.
Basel, Switzerland-based Roche is betting it can build Pegasys sales to similar levels over the next few years.
One advantage: Doctors can tell if Pegasys is working in their patients after giving it for three months.
The first 15, 000 prescriptions of Pegasys written between now and Dec. 31 will be given away for free.
Roche is expected to receive approval for a rival product, Pegasys, this month.
It is also vital that Pegasys be approved in combination with Roche's Copegus, a proprietary ribavirin (or anti-viral) drug.
Late last night, Roche received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for Pegasys, a treatment for hepatitis C.
Moreover, some analysts don't think there is much difference between Pegasys and PEG-Intron.
One of them requires high doses of Copegus and Pegasys for 12 months.
Hepatitis C Marketing Wars Begin 10.17.02 Roche will give away its newly approved drug Pegasys to woo patients from Schering-Plough.
Meanwhile, the easy growth for Pegasys could soon end, as Schering-Plough is starting to fight back under new Chief Executive Fred Hassan.
We have, however, lowered our sales expectations from Hepatitis C vaccine Pegasys.
FORBES: Roche's Worth $58 On Continued Growth And Strong Pipeline
Pegasys and PEG-Intron are both significant improvements over old ways of treating the hepatitis C virus, which can slowly damage or destroy the liver.
Sales in the flagship drug unit are up 13% so far this year as Pegasys has stolen patients away from Schering-Plough's competing product, Peg-Intron.
Both drugs are used in combination with another compound, ribavirin, and there is no proof that Pegasys is more effective or has fewer side effects.
Thanks in part to a hot new hepatitis drug called Pegasys, Roche is staging an unlikely revival, giving Chairman Franz Humer some much-needed breathing room.
The FDA will probably follow the panel's recommendation--meaning that a combination of Roche's Pegasys and another drug called Copegus could receive final FDA approval by year's end.
One thing that will make Pegasys attractive to patients, Bernstein says, is that they will have a better idea when they'll be able to stop taking the drug.
In addition to Pegasys, we have also lowered our sales expectations from Bonviva and Neorecormon as they continue to lose revenues at an accelerating rate amid generic competition.
FORBES: Roche's Worth $58 On Continued Growth And Strong Pipeline
Roche, which already sells pegylated interferon (Pegasys) and ribavirin (Copegus), announced in May that in a small early-stage trial its polymerase inhibitor was effective in significantly reducing the viral load.
And Pegasys is the only product in its class approved for use in patients who already have cirrhosis of the liver, meaning that nonfunctioning scar tissue has replaced normal liver tissue.
应用推荐