Dova’s Doptelet Gets First-To-Market Edge In Thrombocytopenia, Ahead Of Shionogi

For a CEO of a company obtaining its first drug approval and preparing replace an entrenched standard of care with a new one, Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc. CEO Alex Sapir presents a picture of extreme confidence, saying physicians have expressed enthusiasm that Doptelet will offer an oral drug therapy alternative to platelet transfusions for increasing patients’ platelet counts.

The Durham, N.C.-based firm obtained US FDA approval of Doptelet (avatrombopag) May 21 to treat low blood platelet count in adult chronic liver disease patients who are scheduled to an invasive procedure such as surgery. The oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist becomes the first drug therapy approved for this indication, although Shionogi & Co. Ltd.’s lusutrombopag is only a few months behind, with an Aug. 26 PDUFA date