Press Releases

Newly Launched Targeted Therapies Have Significantly Impacted Treatment Algorithm for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma, According to Study by GfK Market Measures

Research reveals that Sutent and Nexavar have largely replaced cytokines, becoming the new standard of therapy for patients in advanced stages of disease

EAST HANOVER, NJ, January 9, 2008 — The treatment paradigm for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has undergone a dramatic shift since the launch of new targeted therapies, with oral agents Sutent and Nexavar making notable gains to largely supplant cytokines Proleukin and interferon-alfa as the standard initial treatment, according to new research by GfK Market Measures.

“Sutent has quickly become the oral multikinase inhibitor of choice in first-line therapy, owing to its perceived survival advantage, whereas Nexavar tends to be used more often in second-line therapy,” said Bill Bowman, vice president and category business leader, oncology, GfK Market Measures. “Even though Torisel, another new targeted therapy, is proven to increase survival when administered first-line in patients with metastatic disease who have a poor prognosis, it tends to be reserved for patients who fail treatment with Sutent and Nexavar.”

While the study shows a similar uptake of Sutent and Nexavar as standard initial treatments among different types of oncologists, the research uncovered some differences in selection of third-line therapies administered to patients with advanced RCC. Both medical/hematologist oncologists and urologic oncologists participating in the study reported that almost half of Stage IV RCC patients received Sutent as first-line therapy and more than one-third of Stage IV RCC patients received Nexavar as second-line therapy. However, for third-line therapy for patients with the advanced disease, medical/hematologist oncologists are more likely to administer Avastin (more than one-quarter of patients), perhaps owing to experience using this brand in other tumors, whereas urologic oncologists are more likely to increase Nexavar- and Sutent-based regimens (approximately one-fifth of patients, in both cases), suggesting they are more comfortable with these orally administered therapies.

These data points and others revealed through research from GfK Market Measures’ 2007 Medical Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Study point to the significant impact newly launched targeted therapies have made on the treatment algorithm for advanced RCC. In particular, the findings underscore how the introduction of new oral agents has caused a dramatic shift in the migration of RCC disease management from office-based or off-site intravenous therapy to self-administered home therapy with oral agents, as almost two-thirds of medical/hematologist oncologists and half of urologic oncologists reported an increase over the previous year in the use of oral therapy to treat patients.

More Than 150 Oncologists Share Their Insights

Reflecting insights from 150 medical/hematologist oncologists and urologic oncologists, fielded via Internet questionnaire October-December 2007, GfK Market Measures’ 2007 Medical Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Study provides insights into how physicians classify patients with metastatic RCC, plus insight into awareness and perceptions of new regimens and new agents in development.

About GfK Market Measures

GfK Market Measures provides health care clients with a unique mix of custom and syndicated solutions to support the full marketing continuum, including market assessment, brand tracking, sales force effectiveness, health care consumer and product launch applications. GfK Market Measures is a member of the GfK U.S. Healthcare Companies, the largest provider of custom health care marketing research services in the United States. For further information, visit www.gfkmarketmeasures.com. For more details on this study or to schedule an interview with a GfK Market Measures executive, please contact Jessica Makovsky, Group Vice President of Communications, GfK U.S. Healthcare Companies, at 215.283.3200 x372 or jmakovsky@gfkushc.com.