TreatmentTrends®: Gout Study Highlights Differences in Clinical Management of Gout Between Primary Care Physicians and Rheumatologists

EXTON, Pa., Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- BioTrends Research Group, Inc. is pleased to announce the recent publication of a syndicated report, TreatmentTrends®: Gout.  This biannual report provides a comprehensive market overview of current and future treatment trends in gout based on a primary research study fielded among 60 primary care physicians (PCPs) and 123 rheumatologists in the U.S.  The report focuses on chronic and acute therapies, perceived strengths and weaknesses of chronic therapies, barriers to broader usage, promotional activity, thought leaders in the field and the anticipated impact of a newly approved agent for chronic refractory gout -- Savient Pharmaceuticals' Krystexxa.

Although half of surveyed respondents indicated that they are relatively satisfied with current gout therapies, significant barriers to effective treatment still exist.  These include the toxicity and dosing limitations associated with currently available agents, the incidence of acute gout flare attacks and resultant acute care visits, the difficulty in treating patients with renal insufficiency and the extent of switching and discontinuation among users of uric acid lowering (UAL) therapies.

The report also uncovered major differences in treatment approaches between PCPs and rheumatologists including differences in gout classification, the use of serum uric acid levels to guide treatment and the use of various medications to control uric acid levels and prevent and/or treat acute flares.  Both PCPs and rheumatologists have favorable impressions of Takeda's Uloric (febuxostat) for most attributes compared to allopurinol, although reimbursement and out of pocket cost to patients continue to be barriers for Uloric uptake.

Krystexxa (pegloticase) was approved in September 2010 by the FDA for the treatment of chronic gout in patients who are refractory to conventional therapy.  As many as three-fourths of surveyed rheumatologists indicated they would be likely to prescribe Krystexxa within the first 12 months of commercial availability.  The agent's rapid onset of action, ability to resolve tophi and potency in lowering uric acid levels were cited as its most important advantages with varying degrees of uptake by physician specialty and severity of disease.

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