Biotech Values

[biomaven0]

To what extent does the superior safety of PMX-60056 warrant a premium price relative to protamine (which is dirt cheap)?

There are definitely protamine-related fatalities each year. In this litigious age, it's hard to defend the use of an inferior product that kills people assuming the alternative is not outrageously priced.

Protamine is also harder to use (it has to be accurately titrated) and heparin rebound can be a problem. So convenience too argues for the use of a superior replacement.

Here's a discussion of rebound:
http://jtcs.ctsnetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/128/2/211

Lovenox reversal typically would be needed if a surgical procedure is suddenly required - think of a recent hip replacement gone wrong, for example. So seems to me like there would be a market for it. But they should have simply done their trial w/ Lovenox instead of trying to be cute.