GSK launches prostate drug

pharmafile | October 31, 2003 | News story | Sales and Marketing |   

GlaxoSmithKline is to launch Avodart, a new treatment for enlarged prostates, next week into a crowded $1.6 billion global market.

The submission of two-year trial data to the FDA delayed the drug's approval and launch by at least a year, but GSK hope the novel drug will make in-roads in the established market.

Yamanouchi's Harnal led the field in 2001, with sales of $608 million, closely followed by Merck's Proscar, Pfizer's Cardura and Boehringer Ingelheim/Abbott's Flomax.

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In the UK, Flomax is co-marketed by Yamanouchi and GSK where it led the market in 2001 with 782,000 prescriptions written in England alone.

Avodart is the first in the 5-alpha reductase inhibitor (5ARI) class, which inhibits both types of the enzyme that triggers benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH).

GSK says Avodart offers a long-term treatment option for the condition, and is also licensed for the reduction in risk of acute urinary retention and surgery in patients with BPH.

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