Some advantages seen for Sanofi's Jevtana by Germany's IQWiG

In an early benefit assessment, the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has examined whether French drug major Sanofi’s (Euronext: SAN) prostate cancer drug Jevtana (cabazitaxel) offers an added benefit compared with the present standard therapy, pursuant to the new German Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG).

The drug has been approved in Europe since March 2011 in men with metastatic prostate cancer who no longer respond to conventional therapy with hormone blockers and have already been pre-treated with the cytostatic drug docetaxel

In patients aged 65 years or older and for whom further treatment with docetaxel is no longer an option, IQWiG found an indication of a considerable added benefit of cabazitaxel due to better survival prospects. In patients younger than 65 years, the data provide a "hint” of an added benefit; however, its extent cannot be precisely classified. An added benefit is not proven in patients who can still be treated with docetaxel, as adequate data are lacking.