Early Uptake by Physicians Establishes Gilead's Sovaldi as a Defining Hepatitis C Virus Therapy in an Increasingly Competitive Market

BURLINGTON, Mass., March 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources Group finds that, for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, regimens containing Gilead's Sovaldi account for approximately 30 percent of the patient treatment share across key genotypes at one month after launch. Regimens containing Janssen's Olysio capture less than 10 percent of the genotype 1 patient treatment share two months following its launch. Surveyed HCV specialists are also expecting to further increase their uptake of Sovaldi among their genotype 1, 2 and 3 patients, with Sovaldi regimens accounting for the majority of the patient treatment share, while the genotype 1 treatment share for Olysio is expected to be nearly 20 percent in the next six months. Additionally, survey data show that gains for Sovaldi and Olysio are at the expense of Vertex's Incivek and Merck's Victrelis – a finding underscored by interviewed specialists indicating discontinuing future use of first-generation protease inhibitors.

Other key findings from the report entitled LaunchTrends: Sovaldi and Olysio US Wave 1:

• Sovaldi and Olysio combination: Over 10 percent of surveyed HCV specialists reported prescribing the off-label Sovaldi and Olysio combination regimen.
• Olysio non-prescribers: Nearly 10 percent of surveyed Olysio non-prescribers do not plan to ever prescribe Olysio, while none of the surveyed specialists indicated they would not prescribe Sovaldi.
• Patient warehousing: Surveyed specialists reported increases in both the number of HCV patients under their care and number of patients on active treatment, suggestive of de-warehousing of patients for new regimens.
• Patient influence on uptake: HCV specialists reported recently receiving general inquires and/or prescription requests for Olysio and Sovaldi; prescribers were more likely to report receiving patient requests for the new agents as opposed to non-prescribers, suggestive of possible patient influence on uptake.

Comments from Decision Resources Group Director Brenda Perez-Cheeks, Ph.D.:

• "Although Olysio performs well in our benchmarking analysis when compared with the launches of Incivek and Victrelis, its launch has been largely overshadowed by the market entry of Sovaldi, a drug with key advantages over Olysio. Sovaldi prevails in every key metric evaluated in this study, including frequency of sales representative contact. Olysio is going to face an uphill battle in capturing market share in the genotype 1 space. Marketing efforts and message targeting of HCV specialists is an area where Janssen will have to be competitive with Gilead in order to promote Olysio' s uptake in this key market segment."
• "Cost is the leading prescribing barrier for both Olysio and Sovaldi. Although most surveyed prescribers did not indicate major payer obstacles, many non-prescribers reported experiencing reimbursement obstacles, suggesting that reimbursement is a barrier to prescribing. With the impending availability of several safe and highly efficacious all-oral interferon-free regimens, especially for genotype 1 infections, cost will emerge as an important differentiator, and follow-on therapies will have to offer competitive pricing to penetrate this highly dynamic space."

About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on critical issues within the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Find out more at www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com.

All company, brand, or product names contained in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

For more information, contact:
Decision Resources Group
Christopher Comfort
781-993-2597
[email protected]

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130103/MM36768LOGO

SOURCE Decision Resources Group