New Drug To Slash Price Of Brain Clot Treatment By Half
New Delhi, 12 Aug 2019:
The government has added next generation drug, ‘tenecteplase’, in the new guidelines for treating brain clots, a move which will slash treatment costs by nearly half, while giving a boost to indigenous research. Till now, drug ‘alteplase’, which was largely considered the gold standard for treating brain strokes, also called acute ischemic stroke (AIS), figured in the guidelines, which were last revised in 2013.
With this, tenecteplase, developed and marketed by Pune-based biotech firm, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, will be part of the first line of treatment, due to its advantage of being administered to a stroke patient over 5-10 seconds in a single intravenous injection, experts say. As against this, alteplase is administered as an infusion over an hour. Timely medical attention in stroke is critical as severity is usually related to the extent of damage caused by the infarction or hemorrhage by the time the patient is treated.
Heart ailments caused over 2.1 million deaths in India in 2015 at all ages, or over a quarter of all deaths, with about 28% by stroke. Over 4,500 people get stroke in India everyday, with most cases (~80%) being ischemic in nature. A blockage-type or ischemic stroke occurs when an area of the brain is deprived of oxygen and nutrients, due to a blocked blood vessel, resulting in failure of brain function, and in many cases, permanent disability and death.
Earlier, the approval of Drug Controller General India to Gennova’s Tenectase (tenecteplase) for ischemic stroke in 2016 put the company in direct confrontation with MNC Boehringer Ingelheim, which markets alteplase, with the fight ending up in court cases three years ago.
Prior to 2016, tenecteplase, an improved clot buster and a third-generation thrombolyte (drugs used to dissolve blood clots), was approved for heart attack. “Based on our research, it was found to be an effective and safe therapeutic option for AIS, besides being an affordable one. The government has recognised our efforts at innovation, and now it is expected to become standard care of treatment,” Sanjay Singh, CEO, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, told TOI.
The company plans to launch the drug in US and other global markets, on the heels of being granted a US patent for tenecteplase to treat brain clots.
The guidelines complement the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases & Stroke (NPCDCS), and plan to focus on primary and secondary prevention, and clinical support for stroke care, up to the district level. To provide stroke care, options being considered are upgradation of cardiac care units to cardiac and stroke care unit, or setting up stand-alone stroke care units.
CT (Computed tomography) scanners (required to differentiate between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke) should be available at district hospital, or a CT scan can be outsourced expeditiously, they add. The Times Of India