Roche's ($RHHBY) idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) med, Esbriet, has a head-to-head competitor in Ofev from Boehringer Ingelheim. But now, it has some survival data that could give it a leg up on its rival.
The med cuts the risk of death from IPF by 38% after two years of treatment, according to Bloomberg. The data will be presented at next week's European Respiratory Society Congress in Amsterdam.
As Jonathan Sorof, head of the Swiss drugmaker's global medical affairs for respiratory diseases, told the news service, some patients who started taking Esbriet in clinical trials more than 5 years ago are still alive. They've "lived beyond the upper limit of what you'd expect," considering that the disease kills half of sufferers within three years and up to 80% within 5 years.
Last year, European authorities recommended updating the prescribing info for Esbriet to include data that showed it pared down the risk of death by almost half after one year of treatment, but right now, Roche can't make the same claim in the U.S. Adding the survival data to its label down the line, though, could help it build on the CHF 229 million ($236 million) it generated in first-half sales this year.
Meanwhile, Boehringer is doing its best to catch up in Europe, where Roche--which snagged Esbriet through its Intermune buyout last year--had a 3.5-year head start. Earlier this month, it won backing from U.K. cost watchdogs, who endorsed the drug in patients whose forced vital capacity--the maximum amount of air one can expel after inhaling--falls in the 50% to 80% range.
- read Roche's release
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