At ASH, Data on Truxima Underscore the Biosimilar's Safety and Efficacy
December 9th 2019Celltrion and Teva’s biosimilar rituximab, CT-P10, Truxima, recently launched in the United States. The product is the first rituximab biosimilar to become available to US patients, and during this week’s 61st meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), 2 research teams presented data that highlight the biosimilar’s safety and efficacy in patients with lymphoma.
Proactively Versus Reactively Measuring CT-P13 Trough Levels Did Not Improve 1-Year Outcomes in IBD
December 9th 2019As yet, there exists no consensus as to whether proactive or reactive monitoring is the most appropriate approach in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who receive infliximab therapy.
Eye on Pharma: Alvotech and Kamada Team Up to Commercialize Biosimilars in Israel
December 7th 2019Israel-based Kamada Ltd announced this week that it has entered into an agreement with Iceland-based Alvotech to commercialize 6 biosimilar products in Israel once the products gain local regulatory approval.
NeuClone's Proposed Trastuzumab Biosimilar Met Primary, Secondary End Points in Phase 1 Trial
December 6th 2019NeuClone did not specify whether it intends to move to a phase 3 clinical trial for the biosimilar. In fact, in its statement on the phase 1 results, the company noted that phase 3 trials are not required to achieve regulatory clearance.
Nocebo Effect Can Hamper Biosimilar Acceptance, Review Says
December 6th 2019Interestingly, nocebo effects may also be induced by exposure to information shared online, through social media, through drug advertisements, and advertised descriptions or warnings about health-related conditions. The effect can be profound; the authors said negative expectations underlying nocebo phenomena have been shown to alter activity in certain regions of the brain.
Bio-Thera Solutions Gets Clearance to Start Phase 1 Trial of Ustekinumab Biosimilar
December 5th 2019Bio-Thera Solutions, a global biotechnology company based in Guangzhou, China, said this week that the China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved its Investigational New Drug (IND) application to initiate a phase 1 clinical study to compare the pharmacokinetics and safety of BAT2206, a proposed ustekinumab biosimilar, to the reference Stelara in healthy volunteers.
Is It Time to Look Beyond Price With Biosimilars?
December 5th 2019While there is no question that falling prices that come with competition are cause for optimism in the United States, which is burdened by rising drug costs, some experts from Europe caution that a focus on price alone misses key reasons to use biosimilars.
Retrospective Study of 56 Million Patients Shows Reduced Risk of Alzheimer With Anti-TNF Use
December 5th 2019Researchers from biotech company Tetra Therapeutics have reported that, in their retrospective population-based study of 56 million patients with inflammatory diseases, use of anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents was linked with a reduced risk of Alzheimer disease.
Biocad's Rituximab Biosimilar Shows Safety, Efficacy in NHL, RA
December 4th 2019Drug developer Biocad received approval for its rituximab biosimilar, BCD-020 (Acellbia) in Russia in 2014, and since that time, the drug has been launched in Russia and in multiple other markets around the world. While Biocad has not specified whether it plans to pursue regulatory approval for the biosimilar in the European Union, the company has announced ambitions to enter the EU market with some of its products, and researchers have published new data for the biosimilar in both oncology and rheumatology indications.
Reports Say Administration May Agree to Democrats' Demands on USMCA Biologic Patent Rules
December 3rd 2019Trade representatives for Canada and Mexico met last week over the ratification and implementation of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), and press reports say that the Trump administration is considering acceding to Democrats’ demands to reduce patent protections for reference biologics in order to get the pact through Congress.
Little Impact Post-Arthrex for Biologic Patents at the PTAB
December 3rd 2019The Federal Circuit, in Arthrex, Inc v Smith & Nephew, Inc, ruled that the appointment of Administrative Patent Judges (APJs) at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) violated the Appointments Clause of the US Constitution, and held that APJs could be removed from office without cause. Absent a dramatic ideological shift in the PTAB, however, this decision likely will have little impact on how follow-on biologics developers use inter partes review (IPR).
More Evidence Supports Introducing Adalimumab Early in Patients With CD
December 3rd 2019In Crohn disease (CD), anti–tumor necrosis factor therapies like adalimumab have provided an alternative to long-term corticosteroid therapy and have reduced the need for many patients to have surgical interventions. It has been proposed that early treatment with biologics may lead to better outcomes and fewer complications—like strictures and fistulae—and findings from a recent study support that assertion.
In Latest Drug Price Proposal, Bach Targets Drugs Like Humira That Are Late in Life Cycles
December 3rd 2019HR 3 proposes targeting for negotiation those drugs that consume a large share of the healthcare budget and that have limited biosimilar or generic competition. Writing in a perspective article in The New England Journal of Medicine, Peter B. Bach, MD, MAAP, a noted critic of high drug prices, proposed a different set of targets.
Biologics Are Not a Natural Monopoly
December 2nd 2019The government should ensure that practices that unfairly inhibit biosimilars competition do not occur. We do not want to discourage normal competition. Biologics are not a natural monopoly, and competition is feasible, as demonstrated around the world. Biologics have provided great benefits; nevertheless, some policies can be adopted to maintain incentives for innovation but still allow increased competition from biosimilars.
Mylan and Biocon Launch Biosimilar Trastuzumab, Ogivri, in the United States
December 2nd 2019Mylan and Biocon have announced that their biosimilar trastuzumab, Ogivri, has become commercially available in the United States. The biosimilar, referencing Herceptin, is now available in a 420-mg multidose vial and a 150-mg single-dose vial.
New Data Help Delineate the Role of Biosimilar Infliximab and JAK Inhibitors in Pediatric IBD
November 29th 2019Data on the safety and efficacy of biosimilar infliximab CT-P13 (Inflectra, Remsima) in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) continue to accrue, in both adult patients and in pediatric patients, and a study from Finland adds to that body of knowledge, while another study in pediatric patients shows that Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors may be an option for those who do not respond adequately to infliximab or other biologic treatment.
Are Microneedles the Key to Oral Biologic Delivery?
November 28th 2019The fact that biologic drugs are typically infused or injected poses numerous challenges, including discomfort for patients, instability under some storage conditions, and the generation of needle waste. Researchers have long sought a way to deliver biologics orally, and some teams have even reported progress toward the goal of delivering monoclonal antibodies in coated tablet forms. Now, researchers have reported in Nature Medicine that a luminal unfolding microneedle injector could be a feasible delivery device for biologic drugs like insulin.
A Critical Analysis of the FDA Guidance on Clinical Immunogenicity Testing of Insulin
November 27th 2019The draft guidance on clinical immunogenicity testing for insulin products is indeed a historic event: a bold step by the FDA that shows a determination that there is a need to bring into market lower-cost alternates to the reference products if the clinical studies that contribute to the majority of cost and time are not required.