Regulatory

Though biosimilars have the potential to provide a less costly option for patients, the products have not seen the uptake in the marketplace that the FDA had expected. This apprehension was reiterated in FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb’s comments at the meeting: “I’m not satisfied with the current state of the biologics market and biosimilars in particular.”

The Center for Biosimilars® recaps the top news for the week of August 27, 2018.

“This comes down to the assiduous care you must do for any clinical studies using human subjects…you don’t experiment on human beings unless you’re really going to learn something,” said Gillian R. Woollett, MA, DPhil, senior vice president of Avalere Health.

“Misleading statements...and the net impression conveyed by such materials, create undue confusion as to biosimilarity and interchangeability, inflate the risks associated with a physician-directed switch to a biosimilar, and cast doubt on the safety and efficacy of biosimilars generally,” read Pfizer's citizen petition.

Sandoz, with its filgrastim biosimilar (Zarxio) having been the first biosimilar to gain FDA approval and to launch in the US market, has had extensive experience in the biosimilars space. Carlos Sattler, MD, head of clinical development and medical affairs at Sandoz, recently spoke with The Center for Biosimilars® about both the biosimilar development process and the regulatory landscape that lies ahead.

The government is asking pharmaceutical companies to stockpile an additional 6-week supply of medicine, on top of their usual stock levels, in case normal supply routes through the European Union are disrupted.

In regard to the naming guidance for biosimilars that states that each product must be given a random 4-letter suffix that is devoid of meaning, the organization encourages the FDA to reconsider.

The Center for Biosimilars® recaps the top news for the week of August 20, 2018.

The FDA recently sent a warning letter to Kyowa Hakko Bio, the parent company of biosimilar developer Kyowa Kirin Biologics, in reference to an inspection of manufacturing plant, Hofu-shi, in Yamaguchi, Japan.

Agalsidase beta (Fabrazyme), the first Fabry disease-specific therapy to be approved by the FDA, effectively reduces globotriaosylceramide deposits. However, the drug comes with a high price tag of approximately $300,000 per patient per year, and has been subject to shortages due to manufacturing issues.

Bio-Thera Solutions, a Chinese-based biotechnology company, says that the China National Drug Administration has accepted its Biologics License Application for a potential adalimumab biosimilar, BAT1406. This is the first proposed adalimumab biosimilar to be accepted for review in China.

Alexion’s existing C5 complement inhibitor, targeted by biosimilar developers, is used to treat patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, but the biologic must be administered every 2 weeks versus ALXN1210’s proposed 8-week intravenous dosing schedule.

The product did not earn approval for all indications of the reference Herceptin; it has been approved only for the treatment of HER2-positive gastric cancers, and not for the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer.

“It is now time to reassess whether the current clinical development paradigm really makes sense from a scientific and economic perspective while millions of patients still have limited or, more often, no access to life-changing/life-saving [monoclonal antibodies],” writes Francois-Xavier Frapaise, MD, PhD.

The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency says that it is taking steps to ensure that clinical trials taking place in the country will not be adversely affected by Brexit.

The Center for Biosimilars® recaps the top news for the week of August 13, 2018.

In the FDA’s Biosimilar Action Plan, the agency indicated that it seeks to partner more closely with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to help remove barriers to competition that are not directly within the FDA’s control. However, in recent comments to HHS, the FTC has called on the FDA to use its own authority to foster biosimilar competition.

This week, Samsung, the parent company of Samsung BioLogics and biosimilar development company Samsung Bioepis, announced plans to invest $22 billion across business lines, including biopharmaceuticals.

The Center for Biosimilars® recaps the top 5 articles for the week of August 6, 2018.

Celltrion’s Korean plant has received its second Form 483 from the FDA in less than a year, only months after having received a warning letter for the same facility.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved Celltrion’s Herzuma—the country’s first biosimilar trastuzumab—referencing Herceptin.

The Center for Biosimilars® recaps the top 5 articles for the week of July 30, 2018.

The International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (IGBA) recently sent a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar applauding the administration’s ongoing efforts to lower drug prices—as well as the FDA’s prioritization of improving the efficiency of biosimilar and interchangeable product development—and asking for a key change to the biosimilar approval process.

This week, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced that it will scale back and even fully suspend a number of its activities in order to cope with Brexit-related pressures, and as the possibility grows stronger that the United Kingdom and the European Union may not reach a trade agreement, some drug makers have begun to stockpile key medicines to help guard against a supply disruption.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has produced a draft Question and Answer (Q&A) document that gives additional clarification to its 2009 guidelines for evaluating similar biotherapeutic products, particularly with respect to evaluating biosimilars of monoclonal antibodies.

Pfizer announced today that the European Commission (EC) has approved its trastuzumab biosimilar, Trazimera, referencing Herceptin, for marketing. The approval makes Trazimera the fourth trastuzumab biosimilar (following Kanjinti, Ontruzant, and Herzuma) to be approved by the EC, and the first approval of an anticancer biosimilar for Pfizer.

Drug maker Mylan, which in June received FDA approval for its biosimilar pegfilgrastim, Fulphila, confirmed in an email to The Center for Biosimilars® that it has launched the biosimilar in the United States marketplace. Fulphila is the fourth biosimilar—and the first pegfilgrastim biosimilar—to become available to US patients.

Mylan, together with partner Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin Biologics, has gained a positive opinion on its adalimumab biosimilar, FKB327, from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP). The advisory body recommended the biosimilar for all indications of the reference Humira. If the product is granted a marketing authorization by the European Commission, Mylan plans to sell the drug under the brand name Hulio.

This month, the Maine legislature authorized a bill titled “An Act to Require Drug Manufacturers to Comply with Federal Law,” or 2017 ME S 432, which seeks to combat the misuse of Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) programs within the state.

Drug maker Coherus announced today that it has received a positive opinion on its pegfilgrastim biosimilar, CHS-1701, from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Human Use (CHMP). Coherus plans to sell the drug under the name Udenyca. Separately, Accord Healthcare received a positive opinion for its own pegfilgrastim biosimilar, which it plans to market as Pelgraz.