Biotech Values

[DewDiligence]

Crestor + TriCor: Better Than Vytorin?

[Using either TriCor or ABT’s next-generation fibrate called ABT-335 as the HDL-raising portion of the combo therapy, this collaboration has two ways to win. ABT announced its intention to develop TriCor in combination with an unnamed statin nine months ago (#msg-8177340). Now we know which statin they were talking about.]

http://yahoo.reuters.com/news/articlehybrid.aspx?storyID=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20060705:MTFH22541_2...

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AstraZeneca and Abbott plan combo cholesterol pill

Wed Jul 5, 2006 1:09 PM ET
By Ben Hirschler, European Pharmaceuticals Correspondent

LONDON, July 5 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca Plc < AZN > and Abbott Laboratories Inc. < ABT > are to co-develop a new two-in-one cholesterol pill, using the British firm's Crestor drug and a next-generation version of Abbott's TriCor.

The programme is the latest example of drug companies trying to develop more effective and targeted cholesterol treatments.

The partners, who will share development costs and profits, hope to have the fixed-dose combination medicine ready for U.S. regulatory submission in 2009.

The new product is designed to cut levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while boosting "good" HDL cholesterol. It will compete with Merck & Co Inc. < MRK > and Schering-Plough Corp.'s < SGP > Vytorin, which also combines two ingredients in a single cholesterol treatment.

Cholesterol-lowering medicines are the largest-selling drug class in the world, with sales totalling $29 billion in the year to April in the 13 leading markets, according to healthcare information company IMS Health.

But competition is intense, with new treatments in the works at several firms, while generics erode prices of older products.

Abbott's next-generation fenofibrate drug, ABT-335, which is currently in final Phase III clinical trials, will be used for the project. In parallel, however, a combination based on the U.S. group's existing fibrate TriCor and Crestor will also be evaluated, with final selection between the two programmes made based upon data generated from initial studies.

Speculation over the potential for creating a Crestor-based combination drug was fuelled last month after clinical trials showed that combining Crestor with Zetia -- one of the components of Vytorin -- cut LDL by an unprecedented 70 percent.

LONG-TERM POTENTIAL

Tony Zook, head of AstraZeneca's North American operations, said the project was a major opportunity to broaden Crestor's long-term commercial potential.

Industry analysts initially estimated Crestor would generate annual sales of $3 billion to $4 billion. But it has not taken off as quickly as projected, and sales totalled $1.27 billion last year.

Crestor, like Pfizer Inc.'s < PFE > Lipitor and Merck's Zocor -- which recently lost U.S. patent protection -- belongs to a class of medicines known as statins.

Abbott's products ABT-335 and TriCor are fibrates, which have been shown to raise HDL cholesterol and reduce triglycerides, a form of fat or lipid obtained through food. The combination of the two drug types should therefore address three elements in a single pill, reducing the risk of heart attack and strokes in patients with lipid disorders.

Dr. Peter Jones, an associate professor of medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston who is involved with clinical trials for the combination product, said many patients needed more than statins could offer.

"There's no question there is a great need, from a physician standpoint, to treat patients for combined lipid abnormalities, and being able to find an efficient and safe way to do that is, I think, very, very important," Jones told Reuters.

Belgium's Solvay and Shionogi and Co. Ltd. of Japan also stand to benefit if the combination is a winner. Abbott licensed rights to TriCor from Solvay and the two firms are also collaborating on next-generation fibrates, while Crestor was originally discovered by Shionogi scientists.

TriCor sales totalled $205 million in the first quarter of 2006.
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