This Common Cancer Treatment May Disappear

It makes absolutely no sense for an effective cancer treatment to vanish from the market, but it may happen.

Despite saving many lives, Zevalin, a radio-immunotherapy drug approved 14 years ago by the Food and Drug Administration, may not be available much longer for patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Has the drug failed clinical trials? No. Clinical trials and studies have actually shown that Zevalin often provides longer complete remissions and lower toxicity for patients with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma than other available drugs.

So why may this life saver going to disappear from the market? Zevaline could be shelved because dipping sales, more successful competitors, and new treatments for lymphoma are more in the pipeline.

For this reason Zevalin may not be sustainable in the long term.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPPI) is the biotech company in the United States that is behind Zevalin and produces it.

Demand for the drug in the US is steadily declining. According to Spectrum’s annual reports posted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Zevalin’s 2012 sales were $30.3 million, 2013 sales were $29.4 million, 2014 sales were $22.1 million, and 2015 sales were $17.5 million – cut by almost half in just four years.

Fewer than 400 patients were treated with Zevalin in 2014.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals CEO Rajesh C. Shrotriya, MD“We may not be able to continue to market and supply this amazing drug to patients, if this trend continues,” Raj Shrotriya, Spectrum’s CEO, told Yahoo Finance.

According to Shrotiya, Zevalin’s downward trend continues in spite of the company’s efforts in doing additional trials and promotional activities.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPPI) and have not been compensated for this article.