Our hemophilia industry is changing as fast as you can imagine. Two weeks ago we shared that Pfizer was buying Wyeth. Now we read on the news wires that Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. is starting phase 1 clinical trials of “IB1001,” a new recombinant factor IX product. A phase 1 clinical trial means that the product is being studied for safety, tolerability and efficacy. If this is successful, then patients will be enrolled and given the product.
The most interesting thing about Inspiration is that it is a pharmaceutical company co-founded by John Taylor, father of a child with hemophilia B. Now that’s something I think that has never happened in hemophilia before. John states, “This is the first therapy for hemophilia B patients in the past two decades. We continue to develop a factor product portfolio in both IV and non-invasive dosage forms for hemophilia and other coagulation disorders.”
Why would anyone want to develop a factor IX product in a market where recombinant BeneFIX (by Wyeth) has a 90% or more market share? Good question. Could it be lower price? What will differentiate this product from BeneFIX? Why would people switch?
I don’t know but it will be interesting to find out. Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals was founded in 2004 with the mission to revolutionize treatments for hemophilia. An exciting mission in a time of great change. Stay tuned!
1 thought on “An Inspiration”
I've been taking factor 9 every month since it first came out. I've heard about many efforts to "revolutionize treatments for hemophilia" over the past 3 decades. Yet I am still mixing factor & water and injecting it into my veins the same way I did when factor first came out. Not exactly the revolution I've been waiting 35 years for. I'm all for improvements in the treatment of hemophilia, but I often wonder if these Mega-dollars couldn't be spent in a way that will help us in the present not the unpredictable future.
Maybe I'm asking for too much?
Tom Albright