Biotech Notebook: Hythiam, Shire, Genentech

Well, a couple of weeks ago, I received this email from a pharmacist at a managed care company:

"You are dead on. I am a pharmacist at a managed care organization. I have been talking with physicians who think that Adderall XR is being removed from the market, and are needlessly converting patients to Vyvanse and other ADHD meds. The reason: The Shire rep left them with the impression that as of 12-31-2007, Shire would no longer make Adderall XR. So, pediatricians and family practice M.D.s think they need to convert their patients to the successor product. Shire's position is that they are telling physicians that they are no longer "promoting" Adderall XR -- leaving it up to the M.D.'s interpretation. I spoke with the Adderall XR brand manager at Shire to clarify their position. He gave the company line that they were not sacrificing Adderall XR to promote Vyvanse, nor were they telling M.D.'s that the production and distribution of Adderall XR would cease after 12-31-07. You have to love big pharma."

The official line from Shire, as recounted on the drugmaker's third-quarter conference call, is that Vyvanse is a totally distinct product from Adderall XR. While a certain percentage of new Vyvanse prescriptions are being written for patients switching from Adderall XR, just as many patients, if not more, are switching off competing ADHD drugs, Shire said.