FDA Gives Green Light for Provenge for Prostate Cancer Therapy

Women have had vaccines available that will lower their risk of developing cervical cancer for several years. A new vaccine that will lower the risk of prostate cancer for men just earned approval from the Food and Drug Administration. The approval of Denedron gives men a new option in prostate cancer treatment.

Denedron Corporation’s shares soared in value Thursday when the company announced that the provenge vaccine they had under development had won approval and would soon be available to patients. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in men, and it usually occurs in older man.

The vaccine works by causing the body’s immune system to attack only the malignant cells. The most common side affects of provenge vaccine were fever and chills in clinical trials. The new vaccine gives cancer patients more treatment options, but it comes with a $93,000 cost for the entire course of treatment. The manufacturer hopes that the vaccine can be used to treat prostate cancers that have not responded well to hormone therapy.

If the vaccine proves successful, Denedron could net $1 billion dollars from sales in the first year of deployment. A company spokesperson used a conference call to tell investors that they have 2,000 patients lined up for the new treatment.

Critics have accused the FDA of withholding the drug from critically ill patients who may have few other treatment options. The approval of the drug, and the announcement of the survival rates caused the cost per share of Denedron stock to go from $3 to $50.