The Center for Biosimilars Staff

A recent study looked at the long-term stability of CT-P6, a trastuzumab biosimilar referencing Herceptin, to see if it had the same stability as the reference product.

In a long-running patent dispute with biosimilar developer Boehringer Ingelheim, AbbVie, maker of the brand-name adalimumab, Humira, has been ordered to produce documents related to its efforts to obtain patents that could shield its blockbuster drug from biosimilar competition.

Biosimilar developer Samsung Bioepis, a partnership between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen, has announced a new licensing agreement with the private equity firm C-Bridge Capital that will allow the drug maker to expand its reach into mainland China.

The FDA recently released final guidance on the use of therapeutic proteins in developing biologics and biosimilars. "Immunogenicity Testing of Therapeutic Protein Products—Developing and Validating Assays for Anti-Drug Antibody Detection" represents current FDA thinking about developing and validating assays for anti-drug antibody (ADA) detection.

This week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that Momenta lacked standing to appeal a decision upholding a patent covering abatacept (Orencia) and said that Momenta’s appeal was rendered moot by the drug makers’ choice to stop developing its biosimilar.

Some stakeholders have welcomed the proposed rule to bar drug makers from giving pharmacy benefit managers rebates, while others raised serious concerns.

Mundipharma announced today that it has launched Pelmeg, a biosimilar pegfilgrastim referencing Neulasta, in Germany, the Netherlands, and Ireland.

In a newly published correspondence, Italian rheumatology providers called into question whether recently published results from the DANBIO registry can be used to guide non-medical switching from reference etanercept (Enbrel) to biosimilar SB4 (Benpali) in patients with inflammatory diseases.

Bio-Thera Solutions, a China-based biosimilar developer, announced that it has dosed the first patients in its phase 3 clinical study of BAT1806, a proposed biosimilar tocilizumab referencing Actemra, an interleukin-6 inhibitor.

A new report out this week found that increases in insulin spending were primarily driven by increases in insulin prices and, to a lesser extent, a shift toward use of more expensive analog insulins.

Despite the challenges inherent in biosimilars, they have a fairly high probability of success, said Edric Engert, managing director of Abraxeolus Consulting, in a presentation at the 14th Biosimilars Summit, held January 22-23, 2019, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Drug maker Alvotech announced this week that it has raised $300 million, through a private bond offering, that it will used to continue its growth, refinance debt, and further develop its biosimilar pipeline.

Sandoz’s biosimilar etanercept, Erelzi, referencing the brand-name Enbrel, has been granted an indication for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis by Health Canada.

The European Union has announced that The Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (Coreper) agreed this week on the European Council’s draft regulation that grants an exception to Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs).

In a recent comparability analysis, a proposed biosimilar to etanercept (that the developers hope to sell as Altebrel) underwent direct comparison to the reference and was found to have a high similarity in terms of glycosylation, primary structure, and in-vitro functionality.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), an independent, nonprofit organization that seeks to improve healthcare value by providing comprehensive clinical and cost-effectiveness analyses of treatments, tests, and procedures, has announced that it is undertaking a new annual analysis—an Unsupported Price Increase report—that will review significant prescription drug prices increases and determine whether those increases are supported by new clinical evidence.

During this year’s investment symposium, held in San Francisco, California, from January 7-10, biosimilars featured prominently in drug makers’ and regulators’ visions for 2019 and beyond. Here are 7 key takeaways from the conference’s biosimilars presentations.

Republic of Korea-based biosimilar developer Alteogen has reported that it has been granted a process patent for its method of producing an aflibercept biosimilar, ALT-L9, referencing Regeneron’s innovator drug Eylea.

Following promises of halts to increases in drug prices in 2018, pharmaceutical makers began January by raising the prices of more than 250 drugs. Now, HHS Secretary Alex Azar is calling on companies to bring their list prices back down.

Biosimilar developer Samsung Bioepis, a partnership between Samsung BioLogics and Biogen, has announced that it will partner with Chinese biopharmaceutical company 3SBio to develop and commercialize multiple biosimilars in mainland China.

Coherus BioSciences has confirmed that it has launched its pegfilgrastim biosimilar, Udenyca, in the United States market.

Drug maker Mycenax has reported positive phase 1 data for its proposed biosimilar tocilizumab, referencing Actemra.

As Congress prepares to begin its new term, newly elected lawmakers will convene to tackle issues such as the high cost of drugs. As they prepare to address these policy challenges, a new analysis shows that several key congressional leaders have received major contributions from the pharmaceutical industry.

2018 was an eventful year for the biosimilars marketplace. We asked experts from across stakeholder groups—and from the United States and abroad—what they felt were the most notable moments in biosimilars during 2018, and what they hope the new year holds for this developing industry.

A number of notable guests meet The Center for Biosimilars® in 2018 to discuss important developments in this emerging field. Here are the most-watched interviews of the year.

There were a variety of developments in the biosimilars space in 2018, and our expert contributors responded to those changes with in-depth insights that reflected the complexity of the biosimilars landscape.

While Kawasaki disease (KD) typically affects children, it can, in rare cases, affect adults, leading to coronary artery abnormalities and acquired heart disease. Given that the disease is rare in adults and that its etiology is not fully understood, diagnosis and treatment of KD in adults can be challenging.

This month, Korean biosimilar developer Chong Kun Dang announced that it has received approval to sell its biosimilar, CKD-11101, referencing darbepoetin alfa (Aranesp). CKD-11101 is the first biosimilar of the erythropoiesis-stimulating protein to be authorized in a highly regulated nation.

During the European Society for Medical Oncology’s Asia 2018 annual meeting, held in Singapore from November 23 to November 25, a research team presented an update on the clinical program for HLX02, a proposed trastuzumab biosimilar referencing Herceptin. The proposed biosimilar is being developed by the Chinese firm Shanghai Henlius Biotech.

Mylan and Biocon have received final approval from the European Commission to market their trastuzumab biosimilar, Ogivri, referencing Herceptin.