US MEDAC panel review backs Dendreon's prostate cancer drug efficacy Provenge for Medicare

The USA’s Dendreon (Nasdaq: DNDN) says the Medicare Evidence Development and Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC) reviewed the impact of labeled and unlabeled use of Provenge (sipuleucel-T) treatment on health outcomes of patients with advanced prostate cancer, concluding that it would “significantly” improve survival in men with the disease. The company’s shares moved 6.2% higher to $38.11 on the news yesterday.

This panel was convened as a part of the National Coverage Analysis (NCA) that was initiated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Provenge, treatment with which will cost around $93,000, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (The Pharma Letter April 30), and the vaccine has been forecast as likely to generate sales of $1.75 billion for the drugmaker by 2014 if it gains coverage by Medicare, the federal insurance program for seniors in the USA.

Cost becoming a factor