Pfizer had high hopes for its JAK inhibitor tofacitinib, branded Xeljanz, which gained FDA approval in late November 2012, for adults with moderate to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This first-in-class oral JAK inhibitor works by blocking Janus kinase (JAK), signaling pathways involved in the body’s immune response. Xeljanz fights RA from inside the cell, attacking a different part of the pathway than biologic agents like the tumor necrosis factors (TNF), which block pro-inflammatory cytokines (proteins) from outside the cell. Analysts had originally forecasted peak sales of more than $3 billion, due mainly to dosing advantages over the popular TNF inhibitors, like Amgen’s (AMGN) Enbrel (etanercept), and Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ) Remicade (infliximab). Xeljanz offers a convenient, twice daily dosing schedule versus subcutaneous injection and intravenous administration, respectively. (Amgen, by the way, sells Enbrel in the U.S. and won an extended patent on the drug. Pfizer, as mentioned above, sells Enbrel outside the U.S. and outside Japan, but a looming 2015 patent expiration in Europe limits the sales prospects. Also, generic versions of Enbrel are already on the market in China and India.) Though the first new disease-modifying drug for RA patients indifferent to methotrexate treatment in more than a decade, the small molecule drug’s blockbuster trajectory has hit a few unwanted speed bumps - See more at: http://ycharts.com/analysis/story/pfizers_pipeline_turnaround_story_begins_to_unravel#sthash.H2gBeBH7.dpuf
Celgene's JAK is going to kill Xeljanz on data and pricing in the marketplace. Big Pharma not winning against big biotech. Big biotech knows their customers, big Pharma doesn't care to know.
Tofa commercial problems started at the top. When you have a robot who hires robots who in turn hire the cheapest, most robotic reps you get poor results. They had the chance to hire the best and most didn't even get a phone screen. Others had to endure the interviews only to get electronic rejections.
In all of rheumatology, never have doctors seen a $24,666 pill per annum for a small molecule that can be made in a utility sink for pennies. Only at Pfizer.
Lemmons is a lemon. Got returned to dealership after found out the sucker didn't work out east. You can run, but you cannot hide! Humira
Looks like the pricing should indeed have been lower if they were going after first line or mtx failure. The injection products have improved a lot with pens and other patient support programs. So value of oral formulation not seen as high. Safety profile also perhaps will not be clear for a long period of time....so given so many biologics, hard for this to break in absent clear efficacy or safety benefit. One has to wonder how the pricing was done. Another alternative may have been to go for a third line setting with a much higher price...because for this group the value of a new moa is much higher.
I made it over here. Was excited until I saw the teams. We could have hired so many good people and we went with a primary care mentality instead. Call metrics. Box checking. It starts at the top.
Unfortunately, Chucky P missed the boat again......severe greed on $$$pricing + lackluster launch = minimal uptake & opportunity for JAK2's to dominate "small molecule" space!
Now we are getting the Regionals riding with the DBMs to check up on their coaching? WTF! My Regional couldn't sell crack to a junkie and he thinks he will help by clogging up the office even more and sitting in the back seat of my Fusion while my DBM scolds me on inefficient uses of layered questioning techniques? This is a cluster. Wish we would have hired some DBMs who would have pushed back on HQ and their out of touch ways. Damn.
