WSJ news from ASCO: Two Drugs Appear to Surpass Landmark Novartis Leukemia Treatment

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

For those of us who grew up with the discovery of Gleevec, here is an

eloquent report by Marina Symcox (a GIST patient reporting from ASCO) on the

passing of Gleevec as a treatment for CML.

Zavie

Zavie (age 72)

dxd AUG/99

INF OCT/99 to FEB/00, CHF

No meds FEB/00 to JAN/01

Gleevec since MAR/27/01 (400 mg)

CCR SEP/01. #102 in Zero Club

2.8 log reduction Sep/05

3.0 log reduction Jan/06

2.9 log reduction Feb/07

3.6 log reduction Sep/08

4.0 log reduction Dec/09

4.4 log reduction Apr/10

e-mail: zmiller@...

WSJ news from ASCO: Two Drugs Appear to Surpass Landmark Novartis

Leukemia Treatment

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704183204575288490590419492.ht

ml?mod=J_hps_LEFTWhatsNews

The large general ASCO meeting is underway this weekend (American Society of

Clinical Oncology). It is kind of like a big trade show--academic science

and a whole lot of industry news.

Gleevec as the first line of defense treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia

is becoming dethroned by newer drugs (nilotinib and

dasatinib) that " do it better, " and which have longer patent lives for their

companies too.

And even though I have known for some time that this " changing of the guard "

was underway and inevitable, and while probably it is a sign of progress and

better things for patients, it also makes me feel a little nostalgic for it

marks the dismantling of the Glory days of Gleevec.

And such a day will come for the relationship between Gleevec and GIST

too...right now two large phase III trials are grinding away quietly behind

scenes comparing Gleevec as the old tried and true first line of defense

drug against new drugs (Nilotinib or Mastinib).

It seems like yesterday when Gleevec was the miracle news of ASCO 2001....

And there was a time back during WWII when penicillin was a great miracle...

As went penicillin, so goes Gleevec, two iconic drugs of their day,

surpassed by newer....

" " CHICAGO-Novartis AG's Gleevec is one of the closest things to a miracle

drug to come out of the battle against cancer in recent years.

But new research suggests two newer drugs are even more effective for the

form of leukemia whose treatment Gleevec has transformed. " "

" " Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s Sprycel and Novartis's Tasigna each were

superior to Gleevec in treating people with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid

leukemia. The two newer drugs are currently approved to treat patients whose

disease persisted after trying Gleevec. " "

" " The new studies could help widen the patient populations for both Sprycel

and Tasigna if doctors begin choosing them over Gleevec for newly diagnosed

patients " "

" " But some doctors might still stick with Gleevec until Tasigna and Sprycel

can demonstrate a long-term survival advantage over Gleevec.

Also, Gleevec could be viewed as a more cost-effective option when the drug

loses patent protection and cheaper generic versions become available in

coming years. " "

" " Gleevec had world-wide sales of $3.9 billion last year. " "

" " Both Sprycel and Tasigna are more potent in going after a certain

molecular target than Gleevec " "

" " There were various side-effects associated with each drug in the studies,

such as skin problems and headaches for Tasigna and accumulation of fluid in

the chest for Sprycel. But Sawyers, a cancer specialist at the

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, wrote in an editorial in

the NEJM that all three drugs have " outstanding safety profiles. " " "

" " Dr. Sawyers raised the question of whether the new data would render

Gleevec " forever enshrined in the history of oncology but no longer useful. "

But he said Gleevec may get new life when it goes generic:

" With rising pressure to balance cost and efficacy, patients and payers may

be forced to select the cheapest among three excellent treatment options. "

" "

" " Dr. Kantarjian said Sprycel and Tasigna would have to show significant

improvement in survival to justify their prices versus generic Gleevec in

first-line CML.

Pfizer Inc. is developing a similar CML drug, bosutinib, that would compete

against the others if it reaches the market. " "