Weekly Versions of Daily Medicines Are on the Way
Consumers over the past decade have grown accustomed to once-a-day prescription drugs to treat allergies, high blood pressure and other maladies.
By the end of next year, they may benefit from even more convenience: medications that can be taken once a week or even less often. At the forefront of this trend are new versions of existing medicines that treat osteoporosis, depression, anemia and growth hormone deficiency.
The move to longer-acting drugs is intended to make sure people take their pills, particularly the elderly, who often are prescribed multiple drugs to deal with chronic illnesses. Patients who fail to take all their prescription are less likely to maintain their health or to recuperate quickly from an illness, studies show.
But there could be a downside to once-a-week doses.
Some pharmacy experts caution that people may have trouble remembering to take their drugs if the medication is not part of a daily routine. And longer-acting drugs remain longer in the bloodstream, which could magnify any side effects.
“Some drugs can be tolerated well once a week, while others may increase the risk of toxicity,” said Dr. Charles Flexner, associate professor of clinical pharmacology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Less frequent dosing, though, is a welcome change for people who require injections.
“It’s hard for a parent to give their kid a shot, so it’s fabulous that we don’t have to worry about it every day,” said Adrienne Collis of El Segundo, who now gives her daughter Shannon an injection of human growth hormone twice a month.
Shannon was one of several thousand patients nationwide who took part in tests on the longer-acting growth hormone, which previously had to be given by injection every day. Taking the longer-acting drug the past two years, Shannon, 13, has grown four inches and stands 4 feet 7 inches, still several inches below normal.
By this summer, Genentech Inc. plans to launch its twice-a-month version of human growth hormone called Nutropin Depot, which was approved in December by the Food and Drug Administration.
Because human growth hormone is often given to children for years, getting a weekly shot instead of daily “is the biggest new development since the development of human growth hormone itself,” said Dr. Mitchell Geffner, UCLA’s chief of pediatric endocrinology.
Drug companies hope that more patients will take all of their medicine if they only need one dose a week, meaning fewer pills will sit unused in medicine cabinets, leading to a rise in sales of refills. Companies also are expected to charge more for the newer medicines. Prices have yet to be set for the new series of longer-lasting drugs.
“The logic is pretty compelling,” said Dr. Marty Silverstein, who leads the health group at the Boston Consulting Group. He said that at least 25% of prescriptions are wasted because people don’t take all their medicine.
Among other companies developing longer-acting drugs, Eli Lilly & Co. this spring is expected to apply for FDA approval for a weekly version of its top-selling antidepressant Prozac, now given once a day. Merck & Co. is awaiting FDA approval for a weekly version of its once-a-day osteoporosis pill Fosamax. Amgen and Johnson & Johnson are working on weekly drugs to treat anemia in patients receiving chemotherapy and kidney dialysis.
Drug companies have been able to develop longer-acting medicines by using higher dosages and altering the mechanism with which the medicine is released into the bloodstream.
Health insurers are fueling the need for medicines given less frequently. “Insurance companies want to make sure people take the drugs they are paying for,” said Stephen Tang, a national director of A.T. Kearney health-care consulting practice.
