Practice

Marcus H. Snow, MD, Assistant Professor Rheumatology, University of Nebraska, discusses the recent launch of a new biosimilar infliximab, Renflexis, in the United States.

Febrile neutropenia (FN) is among the most common complications of chemotherapy, and a recent post-marketing, multi-center, real-world, non-interventional, epidemiological study sought to examine the use, safety, and efficacy of biosimilar filgrastim in the primary and secondary prevention of FN.

Pharmacy Benefit Manager CVS Health, which has over 90 million members, has released the results of a survey it conducted of approximately 2000 people in the United States concerning patient perceptions of generic and biosimilar medications.

Recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), filgrastim, and its long-acting pegylated form, pegfilgrastim, are widely used to reduce the risk of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, but to date, no pegfilgrastim biosimilar has been approved in highly regulated markets such as Europe, Japan, and the United States.

Treatment guidelines for ovarian and cervical cancer recommend the use of the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab (Avastin), but patient access to this medication and other angiogenesis inhibitors is limited.

While US healthcare providers are growing more willing to adopt lower-cost biosimilar drugs as way to address the rising costs of biologic treatment, biosimilar developers are facing yet another challenge: competing against reference products for a preferred place on formularies.

A recent Spanish study concludes that CT-P13, a biosimilar of reference infliximab that has been approved in Korea, the European Union, and the United States, is efficacious and well tolerated in patients with moderate to severe Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC).

In 2014, Germany had the highest use of biosimilars in Europe, with around 50% volume uptake. Yet data found that German patients have shown some reluctance to accept biosimilars.

Spherix Global Insights’ recently released survey of 103 US gastroenterologists yields 3 key takeaways concerning the future of the increasingly competitive ulcerative colitis market.

Price competition in the US insulin market is heating up; Novo Nordisk reported in its second-quarter earnings call that its 2018 US insulin prices could drop below 2017 levels.

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health reviewed the clinical effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and advice from guidelines concerning switching from innovator to biosimilar infliximab for the treatment of several autoimmune diseases: rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, plaque psoriasis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and psoriatic arthritis.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 stories in biosimilars news for the week of August 7, 2017.