Amgen announced results from a study presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in which Aranesp (darbepoetin alfa) was shown to be 13 per cent less expensive than Epoetin alfa while demonstrating comparable response rates for the treatment of anemia in chemotherapy patients, based on the average wholesale pricesi (AWPs) of Aranesp and Epoetin alfa over a 20-week period.

Epoetin alfa is currently marketed by Amgen as Epogen and by Ortho Biotech Products, LP, as Procrit.

The study results compared Aranesp doses of 3.0 mcg/kg every two weeks and Epoetin alfa doses of 40,000 units weekly in cancer patients suffering from chemotherapy-induced anemia. Hemoglobin response rates (percentage of patients with a hemoglobin increase of >2 g/dL from baseline, in the absence of red blood cell transfusion) were 60 per cent at week 12 for both regimens.

"This study suggests that using darbepoetin alfa at this dose may provide a more cost-effective alternative to Epoetin alfa at the current weekly dose to treat anemia in many chemotherapy patients in the United States," said John A. Glaspy, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, the study's lead investigator. "The respective cost of the drugs, coupled with the less-frequent dosing and therefore fewer office visits for patients than Epoetin alfa, makes darbepoetin alfa a viable option for treating anemia in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy."

Aranesp maintains its level in the blood approximately three times longer than Epoetin alfa, offering healthcare providers the ability to treat anemia related to chemotherapy with less-frequent dosing. Less-frequent dosing results in fewer injections for patients. It allows patients and caregivers to spend less time scheduling injection visits, and enables physicians and nurses to attend to other patients and work activity.

The study was based on a "cost-effectiveness ratio" (cost per percentage of patients with Hgb response) which was found to be superior for Aranesp ($16,633 for Aranesp vs. $18,812 for Epoetin alfa).