Hematology

The FDA approved Bkemv (eculizumab-aeeb) as the first biosimilar to Soliris (eculizumab) for 2 rare diseases. It was also approved with interchangeability.

Despite more biosimilars entering the market and generating significant savings for payers and health care systems, these savings are not resulting in lower out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for patients, according to a recent study.

The authors of a meta-analysis assessing several disease states found no significant differences in serious adverse events, deaths, or treatment discontinuations between patients who switched from reference products to biosimilars and those who did not.

A French study found that rituximab biosimilars, Rixathon and Truxima, were as effective and safe as the reference drug (Rituxan) in treating immune thrombocytopenia.

The biosimilar Enoxa (enoxaparin), marketed in Tunisia, demonstrated equivalence in preventing subclinical postoperative thrombotic events in patients with digestive cancers to Sanofi’s Lovenox, in a randomized controlled trial.

A report from IQVIA noted that Europe could miss out on €15 billion in cost savings by not having biosimilars for medications about to lose market exclusivity, shedding light on the implications for overall health care savings and ultimately, patient access.

A phase 1 analysis confirms that romiplostim biosimilar candidate GP40141 has comparable pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) parameters in healthy volunteers compared with the reference product.

Noninferiority and comparable safety and immunogenicity between biosimilar romiplostim (ENZ110) and innovator romiplostim (Nplate) were identified in patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia.

The European Commission has granted marketing authorization to Samsung Bioepis' biosimilar referencing Soliris (eculizumab). The product, dubbed Epysqli, is the first hematology biosimilar from Samsung Bioepis to be approved in the European Union.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use gave a thumbs up for an eculizumab biosimilar, and a biologic license application for a bevacizumab biosimilar was accepted in Brazil.

Authors of a review of safety results across indications and study designs on the epoetin alfa biosimilar HX575 concluded that HX575 “has repeatedly demonstrated long-term safety” in all approved indications in both clinical trials and real-world studies.

A phase 1 study of an enoxaparin sodium biosimilar Cloti-Xa established similar pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic profiles with the reference product (Clexane, Lovenox) in healthy participants.

Eculizumab is used to treat paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare bone marrow disorder in which expansion of certain hematopoietic cells that lack a key protein cause the destruction of red blood cells, or hemolysis.

A phase 1 study compared pharmacokinetics (PK), pharmacodynamics (PD), safety, and immunogenicity between SB12, a proposed eculizumab biosimilar, and EU and US reference products (Soliris) in healthy adults.

Abstracts from the European Hematology Association Congress 2022 confirmed comparable safety and effectiveness profiles between 2 rituximab biosimilars and the reference product (Rituxan) in patients with large B-cell lymphoma.

Abstracts from the 2022 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress presented positive data for 2 biosimilar candidates referencing Soliris (eculizumab).

In a pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) trial in healthy participants, Samsung Bioepis' SB12 eculizumab biosimilar candidate demonstrated equivalence to Soliris, the reference product.

Xbrane Biopharma of Stockholm, Sweden, said its next biosimilar candidates will target the demand for oncology and hematology therapeutics.

During this week’s 61st meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), researchers reported on eculizumab, a prospective biosimilar, and the long-acting ravulizumab.

Amgen is developing a biosimilar of the drug, ABP 959, and during last week’s 24th Congress of the European Hematology Association, held from June 13-16 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, researchers reported on findings from a phase 1 trial of the proposed product.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) first published their guidelines on erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in cancer care in 2002, with updates in 2007 and 2010, and the new update is the first to address biosimilar epoetin alfa.

On the heels of the FDA approval of Celltrion’s rituximab biosimilar Truxima in November 2018, December saw the publication of a variety of new data on biosimilars used in hematology.

Celltrion’s CT-P10, a biosimilar rituximab that was FDA approved under the brand name Truxima in November 2018, is already in wide use for a host of indications in many regulatory territories. During this week’s 60th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology in San Diego, California, multiple research teams are reporting data that underscore the safety and efficacy of CT-P10 in hematological conditions.

In 2016, the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency switched from the brand-name filgrastim, Neupogen, to a biosimilar, Apotex’s Grastofil, for stem cell mobilization prior to autologous stem cell transplants. In a study presented at the American Society of Hematology’s Annual Meeting, researchers sought to determine the safety and efficacy of using a biosimilar for this setting.

Biosimilars of eculizumab, which have the potential to reduce costs for both patients and the healthcare system, have been eagerly awaited, yet many drug makers are developing novel anti-C5 agents.

In a recently published editorial in The Official Journal of the World Federation of Hemophilia, author Angela Thomas, MB, PhD, discusses the advancements in hemophilia treatment as well as the place biosimilars may or may not have in reducing the cost of care.