They say, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” This maxim goes for everything from nuclear technology (the Manhattan Project was a direct result of World War II) to the Snuggie® (because we needed blankets with sleeves because sweaters or bathrobes worn backward weren’t long enough).
This proverb by “they” applies especially to pharmaceutical companies. It costs millions upon millions of dollars to research and develop new drug therapies. A business will not invest such sums of money into a product unless there is a need for it.
The bleeding disorders community has a need for more effective treatments, hence the development of new drug for people with thrombocytopenic MDS.
The Cancer Network website published an article in February about the clinical trials currently going on for eltrombopag. The article gives information about the first two phases of the study so far.
The study is looking at people with low-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) with severe thrombocytopenia. Nearly half of those in the first study showed an increase in the number of platelets (one of the clotting agents in the blood stream).
However, the ubiquitous “they” also say that everything comes at a cost. Eltrombopag caused adverse events in nearly as many people as it helped with platelet production. The control group also saw a number of adverse events, but at a ratio of only 1:3 compared to those on eltrombopag.
This is a silver lining though. Fewer people on the drug developed myeloid leukemia than did the control group on a placebo.
