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HIV drug Fuzeon wins award
Roche medicine chosen as 'most innovative' Business
By Alicia Wallace, Camera Business Writer
An HIV-fighting drug produced by Roche Colorado Corp.'s manufacturing plant has earned the company an international award.
Roche's Fuzeon, which was launched last year, was chosen from among 12 major drugs to be awarded the 2004 International Prix Galien for the most innovative new medicine, the company announced Friday.
"Overall, for Roche and specifically Roche Colorado, (Fuzeon) was a big piece of work," said Georg Wiebecke, president and site manager of Roche Colorado. "This makes us proud to be publicly acknowledged by a big, independent body for this work."
Fuzeon, co-developed by the Basel, Switzerland-based Roche and Trimeris Inc., belongs to a new class of AIDS drugs that prevent the virus from entering a cell. Roche has said Fuzeon not only is prescribed for patients who have developed resistance to other HIV drugs but also can help patients live about 18 months longer.
Robin Bohannan, Boulder County AIDS Project's executive director, said Fuzeon has been a "lifesaver."
"It's clearly the drug that we have been waiting for, for years," she said.
Bohannan did not have specific numbers as to how many people statewide use Fuzeon, but Wiebecke said about 10,000 people have taken Fuzeon worldwide.
Fuzeon, which costs about $20,000 annually, is injected twice a day. Bohannan said when weighing a longer life span against the cost and the way the drug is taken, there is no comparison.
"It's not a choice. People want to live," she said. "This is not only a lifesaving drug, but the side effects are so minimal. I bet that's one of the reasons why they won that award. Not only is it a whole new therapeutic approach, it's leading the way for a whole new class of drugs."
She said Roche has helped supplement the cost of Fuzeon for people in Colorado.
This year's award was the third time Roche has won an International Prix Galien medal. The company won in 1992 for Neupogen and in 1998 for Invirase.
However, Friday also brought more sobering news on the Fuzeon front. Roche said the new drug will take longer to hit its sales target.
Wiebecke said the Boulder plant, which has about 400 employees, produced about 2.5 tons of Fuzeon last year. This year, the plant is on track to produce a lesser amount, he said.
Roche will release its financials later this month, but the company remains optimistic on its Fuzeon sales because of patient support programs and advertising efforts the company has launched, said Maureen Byrne, a Roche spokeswoman.
"Certainly over the past several months, we've seen a solid, steady increase in Fuzeon sales," she said. "As the year progresses, we do expect to further see positive impacts of several initiatives."
Contact Camera Business Writer Alicia Wallace at (303) 473-1332 or wallacea@dailycamera.com.
