The Apothecary Shops Reaches Agreement with Pfizer to Distribute Inlyta

PRESS RELEASE

The Apothecary Shops Specialty Pharmacies has received distribution rights from pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer for its new drug Inlyta (axitinib), and will begin to provide this new drug to patients immediately.

On January 27, 2012, Inlyta (axitinib) was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after failure of one systemic therapy, and throughout its development was recognized as one of Pfizer's most important experimental medicines. An oral drug, Inlyta inhibits certain receptors that can influence tumor growth and progression of kidney cancer.

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee panel noted last December that the oral drug was at least as safe and effective as several previously approved treatments for the disease, but with an improved toxicity profile. At that time, the Food and Drug Administration Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 13-0 that Inlyta had a favorable benefit-risk profile for patients with allergic or adverse side effects from previously prescribed medications.

“The Apothecary Shops is excited to be included in the limited network of pharmacies managing Inlyta,” said Keith Cook, RPh, President of The Apothecary Shops. “We have a first class oncology team, and this announcement certainly reinforces our strong position in the oncology market.”

Since opening its first location in Arizona in 1996, The Apothecary Shops has focused on specific areas of disease states, including oncology, and has extensive experience in providing medications for patients with cancer-related illnesses and diseases. To best serve their oncology patients, The Apothecary Shops have a dedicated oncology team that includes clinical pharmacists, Patient Care Coordinators, Financial Assistance and Prior Authorizations Specialists, and Regional Oncology Account Managers.

“The approval of Inlyta provides clinicians an additional option for managing patients with advanced disease that progressed despite first-line agents,” said Eric Sredzinski, Pharm.D., AAHIVE, Vice President, Clinical Affairs for The Apothecary Shops. “The fifth oral agent approved for renal cell carcinoma, Inlyta, has a different toxicity profile which may be beneficial compared to other tyrosine kinase inhibitors.”

According to the most recent study by the American Cancer Society, kidney cancer is among the ten most common cancers in both men and women; the overall lifetime risk for developing kidney cancer is about 1 in 67 (1.49%). The American Cancer Society recently estimated that approximately 64,770 new cases of kidney cancer (40,250 in men and 24,520 in women) will occur this year, and approximately 13,570 people (8,650 men and 4,920 women) will die from this disease in 2012. (Source: American Cancer Society 2012 Estimates)