Lack of Familiarity and Hospital Formulary Inclusion Pose Key Barriers to Dificlir Uptake in European Markets for the Treatment of CDAD

EXTON, Pa., April 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- BioTrends Research Group and Arlington Medical Resources in their TreatmentTrends^®: Clostridium difficile Infections (EU) report find that the lack of hospital formulary inclusion, perceived high cost and reimbursement challenges, and lack of familiarity are the top three barriers to prescribing of Optimer/Cubist/Astellas' Dificlir (fidaxomicin) among surveyed physicians in the EU5. Fewer than 40 percent of represented hospitals in the EU5 reported having fidaxomicin on formulary, with physician access to the drug typically being restricted. Furthermore, approximately 15 percent of surveyed physicians have prescribed fidaxomicin for the treatment of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) with significantly more infectious disease specialists than internists/geriatric specialists reporting recent use of the drug.

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"Fidaxomicin faces the same key challenges in the EU5 as it did in U.S. markets after its launch in 2011," said BioTrends Research Group Director of Infectious Diseases Brenda Perez-Cheeks, Ph.D. "Despite the need for new CDAD therapies, the dearth of agents approved for this indication, and the high rates of recurrences/relapses in CDAD, our U.S. data indicated that physician uptake of the drug was sluggish with surveyed physicians often citing high price and reimbursement obstacles as drawbacks for fidaxomicin."

Not surprisingly, metronidazole continues to be the workhorse drug for the treatment of CDAD, followed by oral vancomycin, which accounts for a notable segment of the market. In spite of metronidazole's strong hold on the CDAD market in the EU5, one in every four surveyed physicians reported that metronidazole treatment failures occur frequently or very frequently, and approximately 10 percent of surveyed physicians expect to shift away from prescribing metronidazole in the near future. Notably, off-label use of Pfizer's Tygacil and Alfa Wassermann/Norgine/Salix's Xifaxan (rifaximin) for the management of CDAD, primarily for the treatment of severe forms of CDAD and for recurrent episodes, is also noted in the findings.

Among physicians with awareness of CDAD products in development, most are familiar with Sanofi Pasteur's C. difficile vaccine. Physicians generally have low awareness of Merck's MK-3415A, Cubist's surotomycin/CB-315, Novartis' LFF571, and Actelion's cadazolid as approximately 10 percent of physicians report awareness of these agents.

TreatmentTrends: Clostridium difficile Infections (EU) is a syndicated report that analyzes the usage and uptake of therapies and fecal transplantations for the treatment of CDAD based on primary market research with over 200 infectious disease specialists, internists, and geriatric specialists practicing in the France, Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

About BioTrends Research Group
BioTrends Research Group provides syndicated and custom primary market research to pharmaceutical manufacturers competing in clinically evolving, specialty pharmaceutical markets. For information on BioTrends publications and research capabilities, please visit www.bio-trends.com. BioTrends is a Decision Resources Group company.

About Arlington Medical Resources
Arlington Medical Resources (www.AMR-data.com) serves the market intelligence needs of the pharmaceutical and diagnostic imaging industries. Research includes clinical inpatient and hospital databases that directly link anti-infective drugs with indication/procedure, formulary and stocking status tracking studies, drug purchasing audits and diagnostic imaging procedure volume/contrast media usage audits. Arlington Medical Resources is a Decision Resources Group company.

About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources Group at www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com.

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

SOURCE BioTrends Research Group

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