Pazopanib - Votrient: Targeted Therapy for Treating Soft Tissue Sarcoma

1. Votrient – Treatment For Renal Cell Cancer And Soft Tissue Sarcoma Generic: Pazopanib Brand: Votrient Votrient manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline was approved by FDA for renal cell cancer (RCC) treatment. And in 2012, Votrient obtained an additional approval from FDA for second indication, i.e. it can now be administered to patients who have received chemotherapy and have a certain subtypes of Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS). According to a study “PISCES” which does the comparison of Pazopanib (Brand Votrient) and Sunitinib (Brand Sutent) in the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. And the results were very optimistic for Pazopanib, as the study showed that nearly 70% of patients preferred Votrient over Sunitinib; and Sunitinib was far behind Pazopanib with 22%. Pazopanib / Votrient cost information

2. Renal cell cancer and soft tissue sarcoma Renal Cell Cancer (RCC) is one of the type of Kidney Cancer which affects the inner lining of the kidney. Renal cancer is generally seen in adult men aged between 50 to 60 years. This type of disease can easily spread to to Lungs and other organs of the body. The most common form of treatment for small tumours is Surgery and Thermal ablation. With more of targeted therapies developing like Votrient, theses medications are gaining acceptance as these medications are effective results in the clinical trials. Being an aggressive form of cancer, Soft Tissue Sarcoma affects the connective tissues of the body. With up to 20 types of STS found which can affect the human body; and if left untreated they will continue to affect the body and will start to affect other parts of the body including bones and lungs. According to the estimation done by National Cancer Institute there were reported 11000 cases of STS in 2011 in the US alone, and among them approximately 4000 died. Pazopanib mechanism of action Votrient is a type of targeted therapy that contains multityrosine kinase inhibitor of the VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) receptor. Blocking the growth of tumour cells is the main function of this drug. It blocks the proteins and other targets within the cell like tyrosine kinases which are located on the surface of tumour cells. And both proteins and target cells are reason for new production of blood vessels in the cancer cells and angiogenesis. And with Pazopanib working, it blocks these targets which in turn helps to destroy cancer cells. Clinical trials of votrient on patients with RCC The VEG102616 trial which is a study on advanced RCC which comes under Phase 2, tested the efficacy and safety of Votrient. In the Phase 2 trial, a total of 255 patients were recruited and they demonstrated an overall response rate of 35%. And the results of Phase 2 trial also supported the trials done in Phase 3.

3. Phase 3 trials results also established the efficacy and safety on use of Votrient. In he Phase 3 of trial, a total of 435 patients were recruited with metastatic or / and Advanced renal cell cancer (RCC). There was also another trial conducted, namely VEG105192 which compared the placebo and Votrient, taking progression free survival (PFS) as the primary end points. The median PFS was 4.2 months in case of placebo and it was 5 more months than placebo i.e. 9.2 months. The second phase of phase 3 trial named COMPARZ which involves comparing the safety, efficacy and tolerability of Pazopanib as compared to Sunitinib will be carried out in July 2012. A total of 1053 patients have been recruited for this phase which will last till second half of 2012. Study of votrient for the treatment of STS Phase 3 PALETTE was the main basis used for granting approval of Votrient. This phase basically explored in soft tissue sarcoma. This trial recruited 369 patients wo were suffering from metastatic soft tissue sarcoma and had already received chemotherapy treatment. In this phase, the results were compared with placebo. It established that Votrient was significantly more effective than placebo, by improving PFS in recruited patients. The median in case of Votrient was 4.6 months as compared to median of 1.6 months with placebo. "Votrient was effective in significantly improving PFS in patients, compared to placebo." Sunitinib has been marked as the standard for RCC treatment because it was one of the very first to establish itself in the market. With the results from the PISCES study, Votrient has become a clear preference amongst patients with RCC. And with ongoing trend, it is estimated that Votrient will overpower sunitinib with 49% of market share by 2016. Some analyst had predicted that due to the lack of clinical data, comparison of Votrient with other drugs which comes under same category as Pazopanib, may turn to be a disadvantageous for Votrient. But this disadvantage can be overturned with the ongoing COMPARZ study. And this study will help in establishing efficacy of Votrient in the market.

4. Pazopanib / Votrient comes in the following dosages: •Generic Pazopanib / Brand Votrient 200 mg tablet •Generic Pazopanib / Brand Votrient 400 mg tablet Pazopanib cost information The information provided on the page is meant for the purpose of being helpful and educational. It should not be considered as medical advice.