It's not exactly like Biogen Idec
With partner Swedish Orphan Biovitrum, Biogen said today that its recombinant Factor IX Fc fusion protein, or rFIXFc, controlled and prevented bleeding in patients with hemophilia B. When used as a treatment, 90.4% of bleeding episodes were controlled by a single intravenous injection of rFIXFc. And when the drug was used as a prophylactic, annualized bleeding rates were between 1.38 and 2.95 episodes per year compared to 17.69 for the group that only used the drug as a treatment.
The drug replaces a deficiency of Factor IX protein that occurs in patients with hemophilia B. Pfizer's
Biogen looks set to take much of the $1 billion hemophilia B market, although it might have competition from Novo Nordisk
The most exciting thing about the rFIXFc results is that it proves that the Fc-fusion technology used to block the degradation is working. Biogen and Swedish Orphan Biovitrum are using that same technology to develop a long-lasting version of Factor VIII, which patients in the larger hemophilia A market require.
With solid data in hand, Biogen plans to apply for approval in the U.S. in the first half of next year. EU approval will have to wait until a trial on kids is complete. Between the hemophilia programs and its multiple sclerosis drug BG-12, Biogen looks set to coagulate more revenue in the not-too-distant future.
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