Accord-UK launches Pelgraz®▼(pegfilgrastim) Pre-filled Injector and patient app, supporting patients to self-inject at home

This press release is intended for trade and medical press journalists only

LONDON, Oct. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pelgraz® PFI is a long-acting supportive therapy indicated to reduce the duration of neutropenia and the incidence of febrile neutropenia in adult patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy, and provides patients with the convenience of a one dose per chemotherapy cycle regime in a device that enables patients to self-administer the injection at home*^[1].  To further support cancer patients prescribed Pelgraz® PFI, Accord have developed an app with features to remind patients when and how to administer their injection, support with tracking any side effects and symptoms experienced during active treatment, and information on pegfilgrastim and neutropenia to help increase patients' understanding of their treatment.

Pelgraz® PFI is the latest addition to Accord's Speciality Brands portfolio, bringing 'Added Value' medicines to the UK market. According to Medicines for Europe, 'Added Value' products can be defined as a range of medicines based on a known molecule that address unmet needs in healthcare and deliver relevant improvements for patients, healthcare professionals and/or payers. These improvements can range from a new therapeutic use, better efficacy and safety and/or tolerability profile, or in the way the medicine is delivered ^[2].

Pelgraz® PFI provides physicians with an alternative option to reduce the incidence of febrile neutropenia in cancer patients at a lower drug acquisition cost than the brand originator Neulasta®, a pre-filled syringe ^[3]. Neutropenic events are a frequent and significant complication of chemotherapy, and can result in chemotherapy dose delays and reductions for patients, with febrile neutropenia potentially resulting in life-threatening infection and prolonged hospitalisation ^[4],[5]. Filgrastim therapy, the short-acting form of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), involves daily injections for patients with return visits to hospital after chemotherapy, or at home through either a nurse visit or self-administration. Pelgraz® PFI offers a one dose per cycle administration to remove this burden of daily injections for cancer patients ^[1]. 

Pelgraz® PFI comes in a device designed specifically to enable patients to confidently self-inject from their own homes*. Reducing return visits to hospital for immunocompromised patients, and increasing access to G-CSF as a WHO essential medicine, is more critical than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the NHS issuing recent treatment changes recommending the use of G-CSF as primary prophylaxis in appropriate patients to prevent neutropenic fever and reduce hospital admission rates^[6]. 

"Evidence shows that travelling to, and attending hospital visits, are one of the major contributing factors that negatively impact the quality of life for people living with cancer. Reducing the number of times that a patient must visit the clinic or hospital, at a time when they are living with the side-effects of chemotherapy and when their immune systems are compromised, must be a priority for patients and their healthcare team. Being able to offer the option of spending more time at home during chemotherapy treatment is something I know patients genuinely welcome and also means that the clinic could potentially make more effective use of nurse resources," said Professor Hartmut Link, Professor of Medicine, external faculty at University Medical Centre, Hannover, Germany.

Paul Tredwell, Accord VP Speciality Brands, EMENA said "Accord's ongoing purpose is to find ways to make it better for patients; to find innovative solutions that go beyond the original offering to not only deliver positive patient outcomes, but also improve patients' experience of our treatments." 

Patients prescribed Pelgraz® PFI will have access to support materials, including the patient app, to guide them through administration, providing reassuring support for both patients and their healthcare team.

This is the latest addition to Accord's established portfolio of over 30 oncology and oncology related treatments across Europe, manufactured in Accord's own state-of-the-art production facility.

What is Febrile neutropenia

Febrile neutropenia is a common complication in patients undergoing anticancer treatments. Febrile neutropenia refers to the occurrence of a fever during a period of significant neutropenia.  When a patient has neutropenia, his or her risk of infection may be higher than normal, and the severity of a given infection may be higher also. Infections can result from transmission of infectious agents between people or as a result of organisms that live in the mouth, gut, or on the skin but do not normally cause illness because the healthy immune system keeps them in check ^[7].

About Accord Healthcare

Headquartered in the United Kingdom (UK), Accord Healthcare Europe is one of the fastest growing pharmaceutical companies in Europe. Accord has one of the largest market footprints of any European generic and biosimilars companies selling generic medicines in over 80 countries around the world.

This global footprint enables us to deliver vital, affordable medicines to national health systems supporting healthcare professionals to transform patient lives worldwide. 

Our approach is agile and inventive, always seeking to improve our products and patients' access to them. We're driven to think differently and deliver more for the benefit of patients worldwide. www.accord-healthcare.com

References:

1.  Accord-UK Ltd. Pelgraz® SmPC.  Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/product/10649.  Accessed September 2020

2.  Medicines for Europe. On Value Added Medicines. Available at:  https://www.medicinesforeurope.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/4-Value-Added-Medicines_On-Value-Added-Medicines-20160526_AB.pdf  Accessed September 2020

3.  Monthly Index of Medical Specialities (MIMS). Available at: www.mims.co.uk Accessed September 2020

4.  Kuderer NM, et al. Cancer 2006;106:2258–66

5.  Klastersky J et al. Ann Oncol 2016:5:v11-8

6.  NHS England interim treatment changes during the COVID-19 pandemic https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng161/resources/interim-treatment-change-options-during-the-covid19-pandemic-endorsed-by-nhs-england-pdf-8715724381 Accessed September 2020

7.  Patel K, West H. Febrile Neutropenia. JAMA Oncol. 2017;3(12):1751. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2017.1114

* Initial administration training must be carried out by a healthcare professional.