Nexavar : Sorafenib tosylate
Approval on: December 20, 2005
Manufacturer: Bayer & Onyx Pharmaceuticals
Indication: Advanced renal cell carcinoma (Cancer of the kidneys)
Benefit: Progression free survival of six months vs 3 mths on BSC.
(patients live for 6 months without the disease progressing any further compared to 3 months on placebo).
39% improvement in survival (39% people lived longer than the expected life of a kidney cancer patient)
Price: $4300 for one month
Side effects: 2.9% patients developed heart problems, compared to 0.4% in the placebo group.
How is it taken: Nexavar is dosed 400mg once a day.
Other tumors: Nexavar is being studied in Non-Small cell lung cancer
Sales potential: Nexavar is expected to garner sales of over $1.6 B according to Bayer news release.
Renal cancer is a deadly disease that affects 32000 patients each year in United States. Each year over 12000 patients die from renal disease. For more information, visit
For a blow by blow account of how Nexavar was developed, please Click Here
