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New Strain of BCG Could End Drug Shortage in Canada

jonathan bladder cancer canada
jonathan bladder cancer canada

Bladder cancer patients across Canada welcome the news of a new strain of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) on the Canadian market.

BCG is the most common type of immunotherapy inserted directly into the bladder for treating early-stage bladder cancer. It’s used to help stop cancer from growing and prevent it from coming back. Originally developed as a vaccine for tuberculosis, BCG is a weakened form of the tuberculosis bacterium which stimulates immune responses within the bladder to destroy the cancer cells.

Fortunately, 75% of bladder cancer diagnoses are identified as non-muscle-invasive which means that BCG is an effective treatment to preserve the patient’s bladder and their quality of life.

BCG is the most common intravesical immunotherapy for treating early-stage bladder cancer. It’s used to help stop cancer from growing and prevent it from coming back. Originally developed as a vaccine for tuberculosis, BCG is a weakened form of the tuberculosis mycobacterium which stimulates immune responses within the bladder to destroy the cancer cells.

Fortunately, 75% of bladder cancer diagnoses are identified as non-muscle-invasive which means that BCG is an effective treatment to preserve the patient’s bladder and their quality of life.

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No patient dealing with a bladder cancer diagnosis should also have to worry that their BCG treatments will be delayed or if they are only receiving a partial does due to limited quantities in Canada.

However, in 2019, the bladder cancer community was informed of an anticipated BCG shortage due to increased global demand. Merck Canada, which has provided BCG OncoTICE® to bladder cancer patients in Canada for over a decade, increased production by more than 100 percent to enable it to be produced at the full extent of its manufacturing capacity.

Since the number of bladder cancer diagnoses continues to increase each year (12,500 Canadians will be diagnosed in 2022) and the disease has a recurrence rate of 65-70%, the demand for BCG continues to rise.

In late 2021, Verity Pharmaceuticals joined the Canadian market with a new strain of BCG for patients diagnosed with papillary (a type of cancer) nonmuscle invasive bladder cancer (Ta/T1), without evidence of carcinoma in situ (cancer that has not spread beyond the cells where it started).

For bladder cancer patient Jonathan, who has undergone 26 rounds of BCG in North Bay, Ontario, it is reassuring to him that an additional strain of BCG is now available. Says Jonathan, “No patient dealing with a bladder cancer diagnosis should also have to worry that their BCG treatments will be delayed or if they are only receiving a partial dose due to limited quantities in Canada.”

While many hospitals and doctors continue to use Merck as their primary source of BCG, it’s important for bladder cancer patients to ask their healthcare team if Verity BCG™ is an option for them, particularly if they meet the criteria and are currently experiencing delays to their BCG treatments or partial dosing.

Bladder Cancer Canada’s Medical Advisory Board, with endorsement by the Canadian Urological Association (CUA), supports the suggestion that every patient in need of BCG therapy should receive full dose BCG as per CUA guidelines. While it is recommended that patients should ideally receive all treatments with a single strain of BCG, if the supply of one BCG strain is limited, patients could be switched to the other strain if necessary to ensure full dose BCG is administered for the recommended duration of maintenance therapy.

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