ZEVALIN® is a therapeutic regimen, administered over seven-to-nine days, to people with relapsed or refractory low-grade, follicular, or transformed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).
ZEVALIN® is radioimmunotherapy, a new class of cancer treatment that combines the targeting of antibodies with the cell-damaging effects of radiation. The radiation antibodies circulate in the body until they locate and bind to the surface of specific cells. They then deliver radiation directly to cancerous cells only.
A single course of treatment with ZEVALIN® typically costs $28,000.
Who makes ZEVALIN®?
ZEVALIN® is made by Biogen Idec, Inc., with headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and with sales of $2.2 billion in 2004.
ZEVALIN® can cause severe, sometimes fatal, skin reactions.
These reactions are known variously as cutaneous reactions, mucocutaneous reactions, Stevens-Johnson Syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), erythema multiforme, bullous dermatitis, and exfoliative dermatitis.
The time for development of these reactions varies. Some occur within days of administration of the drug. Others occur as much as three-to-four months after administration.
The manufacturer of ZEVALIN® did not warn patients or doctors of the risk of these kinds of reactions until fall 2005, when the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required it.
ZEVALIN® can also cause severe, sometimes fatal, infusion reactions.
These reactions typically occur during the first infusion with time to onset of 30 to 120 minutes.
Signs and symptoms may include hypotension, angioedema, hypoxia, or bronchospasm. The most severe cases include pulmonary infiltrates, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), heart attack, ventricular fibrillation, and cardiogenic shock.
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