Europe’s neurologists unfamiliar with emerging Alzheimer’s drugs
pharmafile | November 17, 2010 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Alzheimer's, Aricept, Decision Resources, Europe, Pfizer
A survey of neurologists in Europe has shown only a minority are aware of late stage drugs being developed to treat Alzheimer’s – and some are sceptical about the likely efficacy of one of the drugs.
Market research analysts Decision Resources interviewed 256 neurologists and 15 payors across, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, and found that most were unaware of the drugs now in phase III.
Three drugs are currently in late stage development – Pfizer/Medivation’s mitochondrial function modulator Dimebon and J&J/Pfizer’s anti-beta-amyloid monoclonal antibody (MAb) bapineuzumab, and Lilly’s anti-beta-amyloid MAb solanezumab.
Between 26 and 42% said they were familiar with Dimebon and bapineuzumab, while between 20-28% were familiar with solanezumab.
Developing new treatments for Alzheimer’s is notoriously difficult, and there have been numerous late stage casualties recently, including another Lilly drug, semagacestat.
“The finding that similar percentages of surveyed neurologists overall expect to prescribe solanezumab and bapineuzumab is not necessarily surprising, as these agents have similar mechanisms of action,” said Decision Resources analyst Georgiana Kuhlmann, MSc.
The survey suggested that neurologists believed solanezumab would capture slightly more patient share than bapineuzumab in mild Alzheimer’s disease patients, while bapineuzumab would be prescribed to patients with more moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients.
Decision Resources says this difference could reflect a perception that solanezumab has the better safety profile compared with bapineuzumab, but adds that: “This perception remains to be borne out in ongoing phase III trials”.
The survey also confirmed that neurologists prescribe cholinesterase inhibitors, such as Eisai and Pfizer’s Aricept to patients in all stages of the disease. The neurologists said they expected pressure from reimbursement authorities to use generic versions of cholinesterase inhibitors once they become available.
Aricept is due to lose its patent in most European countries in February 2012.
This feeling was particularly marked in Germany, where the generics market is already the largest in Europe, and where doctors have strict prescribing budgets. Nearly two-thirds of neurologists in the UK and Spain expect pressure from reimbursement authorities to prescribe generic AChEIs as a way to control costs.
Notably fewer neurologists expect to prescribe Dimebon, a perception probably related to scepticism about the drug’s efficacy. The drug suffered a well-publicised setback this year.
The report entitled European Clinician and Payer Receptivity to Novel Agents for Alzheimer’s Disease also found that neurologists felt they were equally likely to prescribe solanezumab and bapineuzumab if they were approved in Europe, which the analysts say suggests the drugs are not yet strongly differentiated in the minds of prescribers.
Andrew McConaghie
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