Shire Prepares To Compete With Genzyme In Gaucher Market With 15% Price Discount
This article was originally published in The Pink Sheet Daily
Executive Summary
During its 2009 earnings call, the company also reported significant sales increase for its Replagal drug for Fabry disease.
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Differentiation Will Be Key Challenge For Shire's Gaucher Disease Drug Vpriv
The FDA approval of Shire's Vpriv (velaglucerase) means that Genzyme's Cerezyme (imiglucerase) finally has competition in the Gaucher disease space. But market analysts are strongly divided on whether velaglucerase or a pending Pfizer/Protalix drug will be better positioned to make a dent in Cerezyme's market share
Differentiation Will Be Key Challenge For Shire's Gaucher Disease Drug Vpriv
The FDA approval of Shire's Vpriv (velaglucerase) means that Genzyme's Cerezyme (imiglucerase) finally has competition in the Gaucher disease space. But market analysts are strongly divided on whether velaglucerase or a pending Pfizer/Protalix drug will be better positioned to make a dent in Cerezyme's market share
Business News In Brief
Shire's velaglucerase approved: FDA's clearance of Shire's VPRIV (velaglucerase) on Feb. 26 adds a second approved therapy for Gaucher disease, a rare lysosomal storage disorder, to the U.S. market. The action comes at a key time as Genzyme's Cerezyme, the first drug approved for Gaucher, has been in short supply since Genzyme's primary manufacturing facility was shut down for six weeks last summer due to viral contamination. Velaglucerase and Protalix's telaglucerase (Uplyso, now partnered with Pfizer) have been available under emergency use authorization and accepted for accelerated review. VPRIV's safety and efficacy were evaluated based on three clinical trials involving 82 Gaucher patients, including some who switched over from Cerezyme. In announcing the approval, FDA noted that patients who previously received Cerezyme could switch safely to Shire's product. Shire also is seeking approval for velaglucerase in Europe, where its marketing authorization application has been accepted under accelerated assessment (1"The Pink Sheet" DAILY, Feb. 19, 2010)