**Voting for the Sweet Sixteen has closed. See the results here and vote in the Final Four here.**
In what was a fast and furious two-day round of voting, the #FierceMadness drug name tournament field has narrowed to just 16 that still have a chance at the crown. And just like in NCAA basketball play, there were some runaway winners, but also contests decided by the slimmest of margins.
Among the lopsided victories, Luxturna bested Rebinyn 317-101, with voters preferring the posh-sounding name over the less-friendly-to-pronounce Rebinyn. Another decisive win in the Infectious diseases/Primary care region was Zinplava over Adlyxin by a score of 283-150, with a name that reminded readers of wine besting the one that sounds like a teenager who is on the tail end of their rebellious phase.
Last round's star, Brineura, notched another big win, this time over Ocaliva at 664-90, although we do suspect BioMarin has gotten the word out to colleagues, friends and family for Brineura with this high vote count. Many voters who picked Brineura skipped voting on the other matchups, and as one of those voters candidly commented, “I work for BioMarin! Duh!”
Of course, public relations campaigns to get out the vote certainly are not against the rules—seriously, Biogen, feel free to start your own for Spinraza in the upcoming round. However, in this case, even among voters who did weigh in on the full slate of names, the preference for the easier-to-pronounce Brineura was obvious.
Now onto the close calls, where two contests were decided by a handful of votes. Imfinzi edged Kymriah in a 217-211 battle with the Kardashian recall just not strong enough to secure the win. The Kymriah comments though? We may miss those most of all. Farewell to Kymriah with these: “The more I look, the trashier it seems. Pretty sure the rose is going to Kymriah at the end of this.” And also: “Me and Kymriah, go back like babies with pacifiers.”
In the tightest race, separated by just three votes, Yescarta topped Bavencio 215-212 with several literal warring comments among voters of “No carta” and “Yes carta.” In the end, though, it was “the exotic dancer from Mardi Gras who stole my heart” that won out over the “fictitious warrior state where warrior charioteers live.”
Sweet Sixteen voting begins now and will continue through Sunday night 10 p.m. ET. We'll announce the Elite Eight winners on Monday.
Sweet Sixteen (Vote here)
Infectious diseases/Primary care
(1) Zepatier vs. (5) Zinplava
Zepatier
Maker: Merck
Indication: hepatitis C
Sounds like: the guy who drives the Zeppelin
Zinplava
Maker: Merck
Indication: Clostridium difficile infection
Sounds like: vampire wine of choice
(11) Shingrix vs. (2) Ozempic
Shingrix
Maker: GlaxoSmithKline
Indication: Shingles vaccine
Sounds like: a leg cramp you get when playing rugby
Ozempic
Maker: Novo Nordisk
Indication: Type 2 diabetes
Sounds like: an athletic competition in the Emerald City
Rare diseases/Miscellaneous
(8) Xermelo vs. (4) Luxturna
Xermelo
Maker: Lexicon Pharmaceuticals
Indication: carcinoid syndrome diarrhea
Sounds like: a hybrid fruit of the future
Luxturna
Maker: Spark Therapeutics
Indication: inherited retinal disease
Sounds like: a chi-chi resort for the rich and famous
(3) Spinraza vs. (10) Brineura
Spinraza
Maker: Biogen
Indication: spinal muscular atrophy
Sounds like: a summer music festival
Brineura
Maker: BioMarin
Indication: CLN2 disease
Sounds like: a saltwater shrimp species
Oncology
(1) Rubraca vs. (5) Imfinzi
Rubraca
Maker: Clovis Oncology
Indication: ovarian cancer with a BRCA mutation
Sounds like: a recently rediscovered, ancient device that’s better than an abacus but, like Betamax, never became industry standard
Imfinzi
Maker: AstraZeneca
Indication: unresectable Stage III non-small cell lung cancer and bladder cancer
Sounds like: when something will never, ever, ever happen again
(3) Tecentriq vs. (2) Yescarta
Tecentriq
Maker: Roche
Indication: bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer
Sounds like: an unorthodox old man
Yescarta
Maker: Gilead
Indication: non-Hodgkin lymphoma
Sounds like: a next-gen encyclopedia
CNS/Anti-inflammatory
(1) Trulance vs. (5) Ocrevus
Trulance
Maker: Synergy Pharmaceuticals
Indication: chronic idiopathic constipation and IBS-C
Sounds like: a weapon used by King Arthur’s knights
Ocrevus
Maker: Roche
Indication: multiple sclerosis
Sounds like: James Bond's archnemesis
(14) Nuplazid vs. (7) Ingrezza
Nuplazid
Maker: Acadia Pharmaceuticals
Indication: delusions associated with Parkinson’s disease
Sounds like: a renewable energy source
Ingrezza
Maker: Neurocrine Biosciences
Indication: tardive dyskinesia
Sounds like: the beautiful, wealthy and secretly evil female lead in a new CW drama