Why is Dendreon Running Scared of Zytiga ?

Dendreon Corp manufacture Provenge the biggest flop in prostate cancer oncologies history. Provenge does not even lower PSA and may even promote metastatic spread to the bones.

There is one big difference between Zytiga and Provenge - Zytiga works and Provenge doesn't.

Every case reported on cancer patient discussion websites descibes Provenge as a failure. So why is Dendreon Corp running scared of Zytiga ?

This is because Provenge is licensed for metastic castrate resistant prostate cancer mCRPC which is asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. Once Zytiga has been started together with Prednisone then Provenge can no longer be given since it would be rendered useless in the prescence of the immunosuppresive corticosteroid Prednisone. A patient would have to come off the Zytiga Prednisone combo (ZPC) and have a 30 day washout period before the Provenge treatment could be started. Aye - but heres the rub.

A patinet will only come off Zytiga if they are Zytiga resistant, and for this to be clinically verified 3 criteria are needed to be fulfilled.

1. A PSA increase of greater than 25 %.
2. Radiological evidence of disease progression.
3. Symptomatic progression

Aye - and here the double whammy

If a patient has symptomatic progression they no longer qualify for Provenge !

So basically once a patient starts on Zytiga they are removed from the Dendreon pool of potential customers. Dendreon can see their customer pool evaporating before them as Zytiga eats into the market taking large chunks at a time. By the time Dendreon reaches Europe the word will be out that it is useless and governmental drug rationing bodies like NICE in the UK would scoff at a quote for $ 93,000 dollars for doing what exactly ? You won't convince the Wittig Council for Drug Rationing in Germany either. So the Dendreon pool is evaporating before them like a mirage of a market that never was because their treatment simply does not work.