PROVENGE MAKING THE ROUNDS
April 27th, 2010 | Posted by CTL
As Care To Live anxiously waits for the FDA to approve Provenge any minute now, media coverage has picked up. More and more people are learning about this exciting prostate cancer treatment about to revolutionize the way cancer is treated.
It started on Sunday with the Seattle Times running a front page story.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011695773_dendreon25m.html
This article features a picture and story about retired Boeing manager Bob Feutz, and his wife Fran. Bob participated in a Provenge clinical trial in 2007 and shows no signs of relapse. That’s three years and still going strong.
Yesterday CBS’s The Early Show, ABC’s Good Morning America Show and CBS Evening News, all spread the news. Local affiliates also did reports yesterday.
On The Early Show, Harry Smith spoke to Dr. Jennifer Ashton. Dr. Ashton pointed out that Provenge does not have the toxicity of chemo and radiation and that the exciting thing about this vaccine is that many cancer experts look at it as the future in cancer treatment.
On Good Morning America, George Stephanopoulos interviewed Dr. Richard Besser. Dr. Besser said the hope is for other cancers, to use your own immune system to fight cancer. When Mr. Stephanopoulos asked about the price, Dr. Besser said it would run about $50K to $75K per course but additional studies hope to increase effectiveness and decrease the cost.
On CBS Evening News, Dr. Jon Lapook did the report on Provenge for Katie Couric. The footage contained a clip from the big protest Care To Live and others held outside the FDA Headquarters in Rockville, Maryland.
The Mean Vs. The Median
This science lingo has always confused people into thinking that Provenge only prolongs life 4.1 months. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Dr. Lapook interviewed Dr. Philip Kantoff of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who said, Provenge works and it prolongs survival. When Dr. Lapook finished his report Katie asked him about the cost. She said considering there is only a little over four month survival, is the vaccine really worth it? Dr. Lapook reminded her Provenge was tested on the sickest patients first.
Luke Timmerman recently did a very good article about the pricing of Provenge. Jan Manarite from the Prostate Cancer Research Institute posted a good comment in regards to price:
PRICE - Keep in mind that Provenge will be a series of 3 pheresis treatments, given over about one month. Done. Most oncology treatments go on for months. Some indefinitely. That one unique variable will make the price of Provenge – in the big picture – end up costing less than many other oncology drugs.
You can read Luke’s article here:
Here is a list of the coverage Provenge has been getting lately. Hopefully, Provenge will be making its rounds in the hospitals and cancer centers very soon.
The Early Show 6:30 AM
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6433106n&tag=related;photovideo
Good Morning America 9:00 AM
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/video/fda-considers-cancer-vaccine-10475529
CBS Evening News 6:30 PM
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6434668n&tag=contentMain;contentBody
ABC Action News 6 in Philadelphia
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/health&id=7407026
CBS 2 out of Chicago
http://cbs2chicago.com/health/prostate.cancer.vaccine.2.1657572.html
Top News in Singapore
http://topnews.com.sg/content/21424-new-prostrate-cancer-vaccine-expected-have-huge-implications
Channel 27 out of Madison Wisconsin
http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12375452
Channel 3 out of Savannah, Georgia
Popularity: 47%
Tags: , ABC, cancer, Care To Live, CareToLive, CBS, Dendreon, Dr. Lapook, Dr. Philip Kantoff, Dr. Richard Besser, FDA, George Stephanopoulos, Katie Couric, Kerry Donahue, Prostate Cancer, provenge, Seattle Times
April 27th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Beautiful work. If the FDA in its expeditious, infinite wisdom delays approval past the PDUFA date how quickly shall we line up with our signs saying “Hey, Hey, FDA, Damn the Delay, Don’t Kill Any More Men Today!!!”
April 27th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Those with “Blood on their hands” will pay. We will see that 90,000 men did not die needlessly.
Padzur and his minions should not sleep well. Justice will be served.
May 7th, 2010 at 6:40 am
Do you understand that it’s high time to get the personal loans, which can make you dreams real.