Post by
narcissist on Jan 21, 2012 1:48am
Voclosporin and Lupus
While the market for transplant indications for calcineurin inhibitor drugs has been variously estimated at $3.3 billion, the recent arrangement with Vifor Pharma for lupus and all proteinuric nephrology indications for voclosporin is not insignificant. According to the Lupus Foundation of America that market - $500 million in 2005 - counld reach $1.3 billion by 2015. Taken together this $4.6 billion market is no small change. The interest shown by Vifor in this indication is driven by the strong results from the Promise IIb clinical trial results published in the American Journal of Transplantation in 2011. That study makes no mention of these alternative indications at all, but, clearly, those familiar with these indications realize that what works for transplant will likely be beneficial for Lupus patients. At least that's how Vifor is reading the data. Lupus is a heartbreaking condition that leaves many of its young sufferers in great pain for much of their lives. The Lupus Foundation is a strong advocacy organization and is looking closely at voclosporin and other potential treatment modalities but have been buoyed by the strong suggestion that voclosporin will have far fewer side effects than the current drug treatments.