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Basketball got your bracket busted? Never fear--the 2015 Drug Name Tournament, where you pick the winners, is still in full swing--and, as one voter put it, things are "getting even more crazy!" around here by the day. You know the gist by now: 32 meds are still alive in the quest for the tourney crown, and it's up to you to decide which of them will advance to Round 4. You've got through late Tuesday to pick your favorites, and we'll roll out results for this round on Wednesday. In the meantime, check out the picks from your fellow voters and let us know who you think got it right by tweeting with the hashtag #FierceMadness.
Happy voting!
-- Carly Helfand (email | Twitter) and Damian Garde (email | Twitter)
Anti-infective Region
Zerbaxa put upstart Bexsero in its place in Round 2, and Orbactiv packed up after a hotly contested, one-vote loss to Oralair. Harvoni was denied a trip to Round 3 by its own kin, Sovaldi, and fellow hep-C fighter Viekira Pak failed to tally a single victory before heading home; the way one voter put it, neither sounds like a very "harmonious (Harvonious?) way to rid oneself of hepatitis." Looking ahead, Zerbaxa, Oralair, Ragwitek and Luzu may be favored to punch their tickets to Round 4, but underdogs Jublia, Sovaldi and Cresemba have already shown thus far that they have what it takes to go deep in this tournament.
No. 1 Zerbaxa vs. No. 9 Jublia
Zerbaxa
Maker: Merck
Indication: Bacterial infection
Sounds like: A flowering plant species you shouldn't touch if you find it in the woods
Jublia
Maker: Valeant Pharmaceuticals
Indication: Fungal infection
Sounds like: The Greek goddess of joy
No. 5 Oralair vs. No. 13 Cresemba
Oralair
Maker: Greer and Stallergenes
Indication: Allergies
Sounds like: A foreign film noir
Cresemba
Maker: Astellas
Indication: Fungal infection
Sounds like: A minor moon of Saturn
No. 6 Sivextro vs. No. 3 Ragwitek
Sivextro
Maker: Merck
Indication: Bacterial infection
Sounds like: A ruthless Roman emperor who murdered his way to the top
Ragwitek
Maker: Merck
Indication: Allergies
Sounds like: Ragweed.
No. 7 Sovaldi vs. No. 2 Luzu
Sovaldi
Maker: Gilead Sciences
Indication: Hepatitis C
Sounds like: A celebrated opera composer
Luzu
Maker: Valeant Pharmaceuticals
Indication: Fungal infection
Sounds like: A super-sour lemon candy your grandparents used to buy you when mom and dad went out of town
Cardiometabolic and Respiratory Region
In Round 2 of Cardiometabolic and Respiratory play, we said farewell to Farxiga, adios to Ofev and sayonara to Savaysa--despite the latter's similarity to "cerveza" and the fond thoughts of Mexican beer it conjured for more than one of you. Early favorites--and pulmonary arterial hypertension rivals--Adempas and Opsumit bit the dust, too, as did both GlaxoSmithKline's respiratory up-and-comers, Breo and Anoro. Who's left? A docket of diabetes heavyweights vying for a ticket to the Sweet Sixteen, along with crowd pleaser Zontivity and sleeper pick Saxenda, which refuses to go away after narrowly escaping Round 1's play-in nail-biter.
No. 16 Saxenda vs. No. 8 Tanzeum
Saxenda
Makers: Novo Nordisk
Indication: Obesity
Sounds like: A distant relative of our coworker Varun
Tanzeum
Maker: GlaxoSmithKline
Indication: Diabetes
Sounds like: An extremely dangerous aerial circus act
No. 5 Invokana vs. No. 4 Toujeo
Invokana
Maker: Johnson & Johnson
Indication: Diabetes
Sounds like: The hostess at a pagan ceremony
Toujeo
Maker: Sanofi
Indication: Diabetes
Sounds like: Something one might exclaim at a jousting match
No. 6 Trulicity vs. No. 14 Jardiance
Trulicity
Maker: Eli Lilly
Indication: Diabetes
Sounds like: A truly next-generation dating app
Jardiance
Makers: Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly
Indication: Diabetes
Sounds like: A line of four-door family station wagons
No. 10 Afrezza vs. No. 15 Zontivity
Afrezza
Makers: MannKind and Sanofi
Indication: Diabetes
Sounds like: A pasta special at Olive Garden
Zontivity
Maker: Merck
Indication: Stroke and clot prevention
Sounds like: A game Martians play in their free time
Oncology Region
"This bracket," as one voter chimed in, "is on upset alert." Indeed, Oncology remains a tough-to-call, topsy-turvy affair, as Round 2 saw the higher-seeded Mekinist, Gilotrif, Zykadia and, perhaps most surprising, Gazyva sent unceremoniously home. As one reader put it, "I'd like Gazyva more if I weren't confused by how the spurious Y changes how the name is pronounced.... Who's doing the antibody/ADC branding at Genentech/Roche?!" Looking to Round 3, the upsets are unlikely to let up as top seed Zydelig hopes to halt Imbruvica's momentum, and No. 2 Blincyto, which squeaked by lower-seeded Xofigo, takes on a surging Kadcyla. Who will make it to the final 16?
No. 1 Zydelig vs. No. 9 Imbruvica
Zydelig
Maker: Gilead Sciences
Indication: Lymphoma
Sounds like: A deleted scene from Woody Allen's "Zelig" in which the title character joins a zydeco band
Imbruvica
Makers: Johnson & Johnson and Pharmacyclics
Indication: Leukemia
Sounds like: A high-end camera manufacturer
No. 12 Cyramza vs. No. 4 Ibrance
Cyramza
Maker: Eli Lilly
Indication: Lung and gastric cancers
Sounds like: A Brian Eno-produced David Bowie project quietly shelved after both parties got sober
Ibrance
Maker: Pfizer
Indication: Breast cancer
Sounds like: A trendy self-help program that might be a pyramid scheme
No. 11 Keytruda vs. No. 14 Pomalyst
Keytruda
Maker: Merck
Indication: Melanoma
Sounds like: An unwanted visitor impervious to locks
Pomalyst
Maker: Celgene
Indication: Multiple myeloma
Sounds like: An Android-compatible tablet with no chance of unseating the iPad
No. 7 Kadcyla vs. No. 2 Blincyto
Kadcyla
Maker: Roche
Indication: Breast cancer
Sounds like: The ride with the longest line at Six Flags
Blincyto
Maker: Amgen
Indication: Leukemia
Sounds like: A Russian-fusion food truck that's, like, really hot right now
CNS and Specialty Region
The CNS and Specialty Region is looking like Belsomra's to lose, as the No. 2 seed pulled off an astounding 328-74 victory over Rytary that, while smacking of electoral irregularity, certainly bodes well for its odds in Round 3. Elsewhere, No. 8 Natpara and Cinderella candidate Cosentyx came through with narrow wins to advance, while early-tournament favorites Vimizim and Movantik cruised past their overmatched opponents. Who will make it into the next round? Hysingla, which "sounds like a secret handshake or salute," or Belsomra, "a sleep drug that sounds like it will put me to sleep?"
No. 1 Vimizim vs. No. 9 Natpara
Vimizim
Maker: BioMarin
Indication: Morquio A syndrome
Sounds like: A crossed-out idea from the brainstorming session that led to Wreckx-n-Effect's biggest hit
Natpara
Makers: Shire and NPS Pharmaceuticals
Indication: Hypoparathyroidism
Sounds like: Lynparza's beau
No. 5 Movantik vs. No. 4 Eloctate
Movantik
Maker: AstraZeneca
Indication: Opioid-induced constipation
Sounds like: A soccer club in Germany's Bundesliga, short for Verein für Leibesübungen Movantik 96
Eloctate
Maker: Biogen Idec
Indication: Hemophilia A
Sounds like: An industrial-strength adhesive
No. 11 Cosentyx vs. No. 3 Tecfidera
Cosentyx
Maker: Novartis
Indication: Psoriasis
Sounds like: A friendly prehistoric bird
Tecfidera
Maker: Biogen Idec
Indication: Multiple sclerosis
Sounds like: A brand of power tools
No. 10 Hysingla vs. No. 2 Belsomra
Hysingla
Maker: Purdue Pharma
Indication: Chronic pain
Sounds like: How first basemen greet runners
Belsomra
Maker: Merck
Indication: Insomnia
Sounds like: A Verdi opera that tells of forbidden love and yearning dreams