The final #FierceMadness showdown is set: BioMarin’s Brineura will face off against AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi in the drug name championship for 2018.
To get here, Brineura took out Merck’s Zepatier with a vote of 1,383-622, while Imfinzi blew out Synergy’s Trulance in the highest-scoring contest of the tournament: a whopping 3,940-932.
While big scores and blowouts in the NCAA basketball tournament mean red-hot shooting and smothering defense, insider rallies seem to be pushing the FierceMadness contest forward.
BioMarin-ers outed themselves several rounds ago and continue their dedication to the company and drug cause with "kumbaya" rallying cries and, of course, many serious comments on Brineura and its effects. As one person wrote, “Because every childhood disease deserves a cure, and this is a step toward that cure.”
Zepatier voters still tried, however, as one joked, “This is pretty much a referendum on BioMarin's PR by now. I feel like one of the Spartans from 300 for this—I know I have no chance of stopping the horde, but dammit I'm going to die fighting.”
It’s harder to pinpoint the cause of the Imfinizi surge, as most voters did vote in both contests and none mentioned AZ or Imfinzi as employer or brand work. However, there has been a definite surge of support for the drug since its last round of voting, where it only garnered 287 total votes and won by a narrow two-point margin.
Championship voting begins now and will continue through Tuesday night at 10 p.m. ET. It’s a short round and it’s for all the marbles, so get out the vote. We’ll be back with the winner on Wednesday.
Championship (Vote here)
(10) Brineura vs. (5) Imfinzi
Brineura
Maker: BioMarin.
Indication: CLN2 disease.
Sounds like: a saltwater shrimp species.
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.