Sirtex reports surge in sales of SIR-Spheres for liver tumors

Sirtex Medical Inc. announced its dose sales for SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres have increased by 21.2% in the U.S. for the second quarter of 2015 compared to the second quarter of 2014, according to a press release.

The release stated that 7,075 doses were supplied across the U.S., which influenced a revenue increase of 28.5% for a total of $113.4 million. The spheres were used at 490 hospitals, also an increase from the second quarter of 2014 by 18%.

“The Americas region had another strong year, and this excellent performance has again led to outstanding sales results,” Mike Mangano, president of Sirtex, said in the release. “This solid growth in dose sales and revenue is a direct reflection of the team and strategies that we have put in place to expand our regional presence and differentiate ourselves in the oncology and interventional radiology disciplines.”

The SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres (yttrium-90 resin microspheres, Sirtex Medical Limited) are approved for treating inoperable liver tumors in Australia, the European Union, Argentina, Brazil and several countries in Asia, such as India and Singapore, according to a previous release. The microspheres have premarket approval by the FDA and are used in the United States for the treatment of nonresectable metastatic liver tumors from primary colorectal cancer in combination with intrahepatic artery chemotherapy using floxuridine.

“The strong financial performance of Sirtex in 2015 was driven by an acceleration in global demand for our SIR-Spheres Y-90 resin microspheres targeted radiotherapy treatment for inoperable liver cancer, with all regions delivering double-digit growth in dose sales,” Gilman Wong, CEO of Sirtex, said in the release.

Sales in the U.S. are the “key driver for dose sales and revenue growth” for the company and currently represents 69% of the company's global mix by volume and 77.6% by revenue, according to the release. In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, dose sales increased by 18.6%, with 2,273 units sold compared with the second quarter of 2014. Revenues for the company in these nations grew by 17.3%. Dose sales in the Asia Pacific region increased 11.6% with 903 units sold compared with 2014 second quarter results. Revenue for the company in this region also grew 20.5%.

According to the release, there are currently two studies open to investigate the efficacy of the microspheres: the SORAMIC and SIRveNIB trials. Both reached the 85% recruitment level by the end of the financial year. The results of the SARAH study are expected to be reported in late 2016. Combined results for the overall survival analysis of the FOXFIRE, FOXFIRE Global and SIRFLOX studies will be available some time in 2017.

Disclosures: Mangano and Wong report being employed by Sirtex Medical Inc.