An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It's also worth big bucks.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Merck
Merck and Glaxo are trying to get their prostate drugs -- Proscar and Avodart respectively -- approved to prevent prostate cancer. Both are currently approved to shrink enlarged prostates, but preventing cancer would open up a whole new area of potential sales.
But both got shot down by a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel yesterday. Proscar was rejected by a unanimous vote. Avodart fared better, but only by a little: The vote was 14-2 that the drug's benefits didn't outweigh the risks.
In clinical trials, the drugs decreased incidence of low-grade prostate cancer tumors by nearly 25%. But the men in the study got high-grade tumors at a higher rate. The benefit of preventing less-severe tumors that are often not fatal didn't outweigh the possibility that the drugs were causing a small number of high-grade tumors that are often deadly.
Ironically, considering the data, advanced prostate cancer drugs such as sanofi-aventis'
The low-grade tumors are usually treated with radiation or surgery, so not having a drug on the market that prevents them will mostly benefit doctors that perform the procedures, as well as companies such as General Electric
The FDA has the final say, but considering the opinion of the panel of outside experts, I doubt the agency will approve the drugs. Merck and Glaxo will have to be satisfied with their current roles treating enlarged prostates.
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