Dendreon shares plunge as Medicare considers coverage of prostate cancer drug Provenge

The USA's federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) health program has said it is evaluating the recently-approved breakthrough prostate cancer treatment Provenge (sipuleucel-T), to decide whether national coverage is reasonable and necessary for America's senior citizens.

Provenge is the first in a new therapeutic class known as autologous cellular immunotherapies, whose developer and maker, Dendreon, received US Food and Drug Administration approval to market the drug just over two month agos (The Pharma Letter April 30), with the product acclaimed as a significant step forward in the treatment of prostate cancer and sparking a new area in the cancer vaccines sector, with a mega-blockbuster sales potential.

However, the news of the review by Medicare (a federal program that covers about 45 million senior and disabled Americans) caused Dendreon's share to plunge as much as 23%, as a negative decision could hinder uptake of Provenge, which has a treatment price tag of $93,000 for the full three infusions required.