Posted 7/25/2017 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
For those like myself concerned about the very serious (potentially terminal) PML (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy) disease side effect from using Entyvio, here is my estimate of worldwide patients on this drug. Their clinical trial data numbers were small, which does not exude confidence there is non-zero risk of PML despite no reported cases. Although the actual # is likely larger considering therapy churn for other reasons, 30k vs. 3k patients is a bit more comforting. I know the FDA likely required them to state this risk due to a sister drug having this side effect even though there were no reported cases during the clinical trials.
It is still alarming to think about the risk of getting a terminal disease relative to living with IBD (daily struggles and the inherent risk of unmanaged GI inflammation that has its own cancer risk profile).
$250,000,000 Entyvio Q1 2017 global sales revenue (Takeda annual report)
$5,000 Estimated cost of drug per infusion
50,000 Compute total # of infusions performed in Q1 2017
Breakdown to distill # of patients:
5% My guess-estimate # of patients receiving 3 infusions in Q1-17 (1st dose)
15% My guess-estimate # of patients receiving 2 infusions in Q1-17 (2nd dose)
80% My guess-estimate # of patients receiving 1.5 infusions in Q1-17 (3rd and subsequent doses)
30,303 Estimated total patients currently on Entyvio (March 31, 2017) - Excludes patient therapy churn