Roche announces timesaving benefits of Mircera

Roche has announced that moving patients on dialysis from frequent administration of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents to a dose of Mircera once a month could reduce the time spent by patients having their anaemia managed at dialyses centres.

The study of such centres in the UK and Germany showed that an average of 37-43 per cent of the time spent by health professionals managing these patients could be saved with a switch to Mircera – equal to approximately half the usual time spent treating this condition.

Presented at the European Renal Association-European Dialysis and Transplant Congress in Barcelona, these study results assessed the time and related costs of anaemia management with models for improved efficiency with the administration of a novel once-monthly treatment.

Dr Ulrich Saueressig, lead author of the study data, said: “What is exciting about this study is that it shows the potential – and substantial – savings that could be achieved in a single centre seeing on average 100 dialysis patients per year.”

He added that by lowering the amount of time spent by healthcare professionals conducting routine tasks in administering healthcare, the compound may give this staff increased time to provide improved use of their skills to benefit patients.

In May 2007, Roche received a positive opinion for Mircera as a treatment for anaemia related to chronic kidney disease from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.