Thought-Leader Opinion and Clinical Data Indicate that Emerging Agents from Two Drug Classes Have Efficacy Advantages Over Currently Used Therapies for HR-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer

Improvements in Efficacy Endpoints Including Disease Progression are Key Drivers for Prescribing in this Population, According to a New Report from Decision Resources

BURLINGTON, Mass., May 21, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that the effect of an emerging agent on key efficacy endpoints, including overall survival and time to disease progression, has the most influence over surveyed U.S. and European oncologists' prescribing decisions for advanced/metastatic hormone-receptor (HR-) positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. The two novel emerging therapies palbociclib (Pfizer's PD-0332991) and buparlisib (Novartis's BKM-120), both in combination with currently available hormonal therapies, are set to offer efficacy advantages over currently available agents used to treat this patient population.

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The Decision Base 2013 report entitled Breast Cancer (Hormone Receptor-Positive, HER2-Negative Advanced/Metastatic): What Attributes will Distinguish Emerging Therapies in the Eyes of Oncologists and Payers?, finds that surveyed U.S. oncologists would prescribe palbociclib to 50 percent of their first-line advanced/metastatic HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer patients.

The report also finds that surveyed managed care organization (MCO) pharmacy directors are particularly receptive to novel therapies that offer an improvement in overall response rate (ORR) in this patient population. However, while several emerging therapies hold promise, Decision Resources does not expect any will match the clinical improvement in ORR over current therapies that surveyed U.S. payers indicated would be necessary for widespread inclusion on MCO formularies.

"This population represents a large and therefore potentially lucrative market segment for drug developers," said Decision Resources Principal Analyst Amy Duval. "The majority of hormonal therapies used to treat patients in this population are generic, and market dynamics had been stagnating until last year's approval of everolimus (Novartis's Afinitor) in this population. Uptake of everolimus and the development of promising late-stage clinical prospects such as palbociclib and buparlisib are set to reinvigorate this market segment."

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SOURCE Decision Resources