FDA Announces Draft Guidance for Labeling of Drug and Biological Products
July 11th 2018The FDA recently released a draft guidance document that provided an overview of the content and format of information sponsors should include in the “Indications and Usage” section of a drug label for drugs and biologics.
Study Finds Significant Unmet Needs Remain With RA Treatment
July 10th 2018Despite progress in the successful treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are using conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs) and biological DMARDs (bDMARDs), a Greek study has found that a considerable number of patients are still not achieving low disease activity (LDA) despite having been treated following established recommendations for RA therapy.
Mylan Receives FDA Form 483 Noting 13 Inspection Observations
July 10th 2018Last week, the FDA issued a 32-page Form 483 to Mylan after a 5-week inspection of its manufacturing plant in Morgantown, West Virginia. The FDA cited 13 inspection observations, including failure to follow proper quality control protocols, lack of adequate cleaning of utensils and equipment, and ineffective laboratory controls and sampling, among others.
FDA Draft Guidance Explains Assessment of User Fees Under BsUFA
July 9th 2018The FDA recently released a draft guidance document entitled “Assessing User Fees Under the Biosimilar User Fee Amendments of 2017.” The guidance is meant to address various industry inquiries around the implementation of the Biosimilar User Fee Amendments II (BsUFA II).
Observational Study Finds High Patient Satisfaction With Prefilled Biosimilar SB4 Pen
July 6th 2018A survey of German patients who used a prefilled pen for subcutaneous delivery of biosimilar etanercept SB4 has reported a very high level of patient satisfaction with the product following an interim analysis.
Norwegian Study Finds Nonmedical Switch to Biosimilar Etanercept SB4 Well Tolerated in RA
July 3rd 2018A preliminary study among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in Norway who were switched from originator etanercept to its biosimilar (SB4) for nonmedical reasons found that patients had good tolerance for the switch to the biosimilar, with no impairment in disease measures.
Intratumoral Injections of Bevacizumab Could Help Prevent AEs Associated With Systemic Therapy
July 3rd 2018Intravenous administration of the anti–vascular endothelial growth factor treatment bevacizumab at high doses can result in serious, systemic adverse events (AEs). Additionally, tumors can become resistant to therapy and adopt a more invasive growth pattern. Thus, delivering bevacizumab for the treatment of cancer at a lower dose in a manner that avoids systemic AEs is necessary.
Bevacizumab May Have a Role in Treating Eales Disease
July 1st 2018Eales disease (ED) is a common, idiopathic, inflammatory retinal vasculitis that particularly affects young adults. Current treatments available for ED include corticosteroids, laser photocoagulation, retinal cryotherapy, and surgery, but a recent study found that using intravitreal bevacizumab injections may produce better outcomes and reduce the need for surgery.
Study Examines Potential Role of Biologics in Treating Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
June 30th 2018Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic, immune-mediated, progressive biliary disease that is closely associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). PSC has no cure, and up to 40% of cases eventually require patients to receive liver transplants. Given the efficacy of biologics in treating IBD, the potential to treat PSC with these same drugs is a matter of interest for healthcare providers.
Canada Allows Aligned Regulatory Drug Reviews Between Health Canada and HTA Orgs
June 29th 2018Health Canada, Canada’s governmental health agency, announced that there is now an option for all biological and pharmaceutical new drug submissions to request aligned regulatory reviews between Health Canada and health technology assessment (HTA) organizations.
Biosimilar Nonmedical Switching Must Never Undermine Patient Safety
June 29th 2018While managing costs is extremely important to physicians and their patients, achieving and maintaining disease control without increasing the risk of complications or toxicities must remain the primary goal in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases.
Review Addresses the Role of Anti-TNFs in Intestinal Behçet Disease
June 28th 2018Intestinal Behçet disease (BD), which is an immune-mediated, chronic, inflammatory intestinal disease, can be difficult to treat, in part because the pathogenesis of intestinal BD is unclear. However, as data for using anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs have been accumulating in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which has a similar clinical presentation, the potential to treat BD with these agents is under investigation.
ILAR Treatment Recommendations for Psoriatic Arthritis in Resource-Poor Countries Available
June 28th 2018New International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) recommendations are now available for the treatment of patients with psoriatic arthritis living in resource-poor regions, including Central and South America and Africa.
Dutch Study at EULAR Evaluates Impact of Switch From Originator to Biosimilar Etanercept
June 26th 2018The study, conducted in 80 patients with rheumatic diseases who elected to switch from treatment with originator etanercept to biosimilar etanercept, found that 80% were willing to switch, and switching did not affect treatment effectiveness during 1 year of follow up.
Report Details Novel Methods to Improve Clinical Use of CAR T-Cell Immunotherapies
June 25th 2018Researchers have reported the development of CubiCAR architecture, which has the potential to improve the safety of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapies for a broad range of patients with cancer.
Study Finds Tofacitinib May Result in a Lower Cost to Treat RA Than Cycling Anti-TNF Drugs
June 22nd 2018Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has a considerable economic burden, and costly biologic drugs, including anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents, are often prescribed in cases in which patients fail to respond adequately to methotrexate.