/And then there were 32: #FierceMadness Round 3 begins
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And then there were 32: #FierceMadness Round 3 begins

FiercePharma
2015/03/23

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Basketball got your bracket busted? Never fear--the 2015 Drug Name Tournament, where you pick the winners, is still in full swing--and, as one voter put it, things are "getting even more crazy!" around here by the day. You know the gist by now: 32 meds are still alive in the quest for the tourney crown, and it's up to you to decide which of them will advance to Round 4. You've got through late Tuesday to pick your favorites, and we'll roll out results for this round on Wednesday. In the meantime, check out the picks from your fellow voters and let us know who you think got it right by tweeting with the hashtag #FierceMadness.

Happy voting!

-- Carly Helfand (email | Twitter) and Damian Garde (email | Twitter)

Anti-infective Region

Zerbaxa put upstart Bexsero in its place in Round 2, and Orbactiv packed up after a hotly contested, one-vote loss to Oralair. Harvoni was denied a trip to Round 3 by its own kin, Sovaldi, and fellow hep-C fighter Viekira Pak failed to tally a single victory before heading home; the way one voter put it, neither sounds like a very "harmonious (Harvonious?) way to rid oneself of hepatitis." Looking ahead, Zerbaxa, Oralair, Ragwitek and Luzu may be favored to punch their tickets to Round 4, but underdogs Jublia, Sovaldi and Cresemba have already shown thus far that they have what it takes to go deep in this tournament.

No. 1 Zerbaxa vs. No. 9 Jublia

Zerbaxa

Maker: Merck Indication: Bacterial infection Sounds like: A flowering plant species you shouldn't touch if you find it in the woods

Jublia

Maker: Valeant Pharmaceuticals Indication: Fungal infection Sounds like: The Greek goddess of joy

No. 5 Oralair vs. No. 13 Cresemba

Oralair

Maker: Greer and Stallergenes Indication: Allergies Sounds like: A foreign film noir

Cresemba

Maker: Astellas Indication: Fungal infection Sounds like: A minor moon of Saturn

No. 6 Sivextro vs. No. 3 Ragwitek

Sivextro

Maker: Merck Indication: Bacterial infection Sounds like: A ruthless Roman emperor who murdered his way to the top

Ragwitek

Maker: Merck Indication: Allergies Sounds like: Ragweed.

No. 7 Sovaldi vs. No. 2 Luzu

Sovaldi

Maker: Gilead Sciences Indication: Hepatitis C Sounds like: A celebrated opera composer

Luzu

Maker: Valeant Pharmaceuticals Indication: Fungal infection Sounds like: A super-sour lemon candy your grandparents used to buy you when mom and dad went out of town

Cardiometabolic and Respiratory Region

In Round 2 of Cardiometabolic and Respiratory play, we said farewell to Farxiga, adios to Ofev and sayonara to Savaysa--despite the latter's similarity to "cerveza" and the fond thoughts of Mexican beer it conjured for more than one of you. Early favorites--and pulmonary arterial hypertension rivals--Adempas and Opsumit bit the dust, too, as did both GlaxoSmithKline's respiratory up-and-comers, Breo and Anoro. Who's left? A docket of diabetes heavyweights vying for a ticket to the Sweet Sixteen, along with crowd pleaser Zontivity and sleeper pick Saxenda, which refuses to go away after narrowly escaping Round 1's play-in nail-biter.

No. 16 Saxenda vs. No. 8 Tanzeum

Saxenda

Makers: Novo Nordisk Indication: Obesity Sounds like: A distant relative of our coworker Varun

Tanzeum

Maker: GlaxoSmithKline Indication: Diabetes Sounds like: An extremely dangerous aerial circus act

No. 5 Invokana vs. No. 4 Toujeo

Invokana

Maker: Johnson & Johnson Indication: Diabetes Sounds like: The hostess at a pagan ceremony

Toujeo

Maker: Sanofi Indication: Diabetes Sounds like: Something one might exclaim at a jousting match

No. 6 Trulicity vs. No. 14 Jardiance

Trulicity

Maker: Eli Lilly Indication: Diabetes Sounds like: A truly next-generation dating app

Jardiance

Makers: Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly Indication: Diabetes Sounds like: A line of four-door family station wagons

No. 10 Afrezza vs. No. 15 Zontivity

Afrezza

Makers: MannKind and Sanofi Indication: Diabetes Sounds like: A pasta special at Olive Garden

Zontivity

Maker: Merck Indication: Stroke and clot prevention Sounds like: A game Martians play in their free time

Oncology Region

"This bracket," as one voter chimed in, "is on upset alert." Indeed, Oncology remains a tough-to-call, topsy-turvy affair, as Round 2 saw the higher-seeded Mekinist, Gilotrif, Zykadia and, perhaps most surprising, Gazyva sent unceremoniously home. As one reader put it, "I'd like Gazyva more if I weren't confused by how the spurious Y changes how the name is pronounced.... Who's doing the antibody/ADC branding at Genentech/Roche?!" Looking to Round 3, the upsets are unlikely to let up as top seed Zydelig hopes to halt Imbruvica's momentum, and No. 2 Blincyto, which squeaked by lower-seeded Xofigo, takes on a surging Kadcyla. Who will make it to the final 16?

No. 1 Zydelig vs. No. 9 Imbruvica

Zydelig

Maker: Gilead Sciences Indication: Lymphoma Sounds like: A deleted scene from Woody Allen's "Zelig" in which the title character joins a zydeco band

Imbruvica

Makers: Johnson & Johnson and Pharmacyclics Indication: Leukemia Sounds like: A high-end camera manufacturer

No. 12 Cyramza vs. No. 4 Ibrance

Cyramza

Maker: Eli Lilly Indication: Lung and gastric cancers Sounds like: A Brian Eno-produced David Bowie project quietly shelved after both parties got sober

Ibrance

Maker: Pfizer Indication: Breast cancer Sounds like: A trendy self-help program that might be a pyramid scheme

No. 11 Keytruda vs. No. 14 Pomalyst

Keytruda

Maker: Merck Indication: Melanoma Sounds like: An unwanted visitor impervious to locks

Pomalyst

Maker: Celgene Indication: Multiple myeloma Sounds like: An Android-compatible tablet with no chance of unseating the iPad

No. 7 Kadcyla vs. No. 2 Blincyto

Kadcyla

Maker: Roche Indication: Breast cancer Sounds like: The ride with the longest line at Six Flags

Blincyto

Maker: Amgen Indication: Leukemia Sounds like: A Russian-fusion food truck that's, like, really hot right now

CNS and Specialty Region

The CNS and Specialty Region is looking like Belsomra's to lose, as the No. 2 seed pulled off an astounding 328-74 victory over Rytary that, while smacking of electoral irregularity, certainly bodes well for its odds in Round 3. Elsewhere, No. 8 Natpara and Cinderella candidate Cosentyx came through with narrow wins to advance, while early-tournament favorites Vimizim and Movantik cruised past their overmatched opponents. Who will make it into the next round? Hysingla, which "sounds like a secret handshake or salute," or Belsomra, "a sleep drug that sounds like it will put me to sleep?"

No. 1 Vimizim vs. No. 9 Natpara

Vimizim

Maker: BioMarin Indication: Morquio A syndrome Sounds like: A crossed-out idea from the brainstorming session that led to Wreckx-n-Effect's biggest hit

Natpara

Makers: Shire and NPS Pharmaceuticals Indication: Hypoparathyroidism Sounds like: Lynparza's beau

No. 5 Movantik vs. No. 4 Eloctate

Movantik

Maker: AstraZeneca Indication: Opioid-induced constipation Sounds like: A soccer club in Germany's Bundesliga, short for Verein für Leibesübungen Movantik 96

Eloctate

Maker: Biogen Idec Indication: Hemophilia A Sounds like: An industrial-strength adhesive

No. 11 Cosentyx vs. No. 3 Tecfidera

Cosentyx

Maker: Novartis Indication: Psoriasis Sounds like: A friendly prehistoric bird

Tecfidera

Maker: Biogen Idec Indication: Multiple sclerosis Sounds like: A brand of power tools

No. 10 Hysingla vs. No. 2 Belsomra

Hysingla

Maker: Purdue Pharma Indication: Chronic pain Sounds like: How first basemen greet runners

Belsomra

Maker: Merck Indication: Insomnia Sounds like: A Verdi opera that tells of forbidden love and yearning dreams

Summary

Basketball got your bracket busted? Never fear--the 2015 Drug Name Tournament, where you pick the winners, is still in full swing--and, as one voter put it, things are "getting even more crazy!" around here by the day.