Oncologists Expect to Prescribe New Renal Cell Carcinoma Drug
A Zitter Insights survey shows that the majority of oncologists are likely to prescribe a newly approved agent for advanced renal cell carcinoma.
On March 10, the FDA approved AVEO Oncology’s Fotivda (tivozanib) for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma who have received at least two prior systemic therapies. According to the company, it is the first FDA-approved therapy for this indication.
For the Managed Care Oncology Index: Q4 2020, from Dec. 2, 2020, to Jan. 5, 2021, Zitter Insights polled 40 commercial payers with 132.0 million covered lives. Payers representing 84% of lives expected they would manage the drug to label, while those with 10% of lives anticipated covering it more restrictively than its label.
Zitter Insights and AIS Health are both MMIT companies.
The drug’s approval was based on a handful of clinical trials, including TIVO-3, a Phase III study pitting it against Bayer’s Nexavar (sorafenib). Payers covering 40% of lives said they are likely to use Fotivda to negotiate greater discounts for Nexavar, but those with 42% of lives said they are unlikely to take that action. Those covering 78% of lives do not expect to prefer Fotivda over Nexavar in advanced renal cell carcinoma and do not anticipate incentivizing oncologists to prescribe Fotivda over Nexavar.
Zitter Insights also surveyed 100 oncologists during the same time frame. Almost 70% said they were likely to prescribe Fotivda for advanced renal cell carcinoma, as well as prescribe it over Nexavar (see chart below). Respondents were fairly evenly divided on whether they would refrain from prescribing Nexavar.
For more information on the Zitter data, contact Jill Brown Kettler at jbrown@aishealth.com.
SOURCE: Zitter Insights, Managed Care Oncology Index: Q4 2020.
