Astellas: Once daily MR Prograf equivalent to twice daily competitors

Astellas has said that its Modified Release (MR) version of Prograf, the immunosuppressant used to prevent organ rejection in transplant patients, is equivalent in effectiveness to twice daily forms of the original form of Prograf or Neoral, the Novartis drug.

Earlier this week, Novartis said clinical studies showed a lower incidence of new-onset diabetes in Neoral patients when compared to Prograf patients. However, Astellas argues that the new MR Prograf formulation will enable a larger number of patients to stick to their dosage regime, because the number of medications taken by transplant patients each day can lead to non-compliance rates of up to 45 per cent.

It is thought a once daily treatment could help to improve this.

Paul C Kuo, chief of the division of general surgery at Duke University in North Carolina, who investigated the study, stated: “A number of recent studies indicate that non-adherence has become a vital issue afflicting transplant patients.”

“The availability of a once-daily formulation could increase the number of patients adhering to their medication regimen,” he added.

Astellas claims Prograf has been the “cornerstone” of immunosuppressive schemes and is available in over 70 countries.

Tacrolimus, the active ingredient in Prograf, was discovered in the 1980s by a team of Japanese scientists in a sample of soil near Tsukuba, Japan. The bacteria in the soil produced by-products that form the basis of tacrolimus.

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