Biosimilars and Biobetters

FDA releases long-awaited guidance documents regarding the assessment of biosimilarity.

Originator product manufacturers will have to update and improve their processing platforms to stay competitive with the biosimilars coming to market.

The company announced that a pharmacokinetic study comparing ONS-1045 to US- and EU-sourced Avastin will conclude shortly.

Second-generation needle-free injection systems will make parenteral drug administration more convenient, efficient, and safe.

Physician-administered biosimilars under Medicare Part B will be reimbursed at a rate based on innovator drug prices and new changes will make costly innovator Part D drugs easier to exclude from formularies.

FDA approves a biosimilar and loses a commissioner in March.

Drug makers back alternative to FDA labeling update rule.

Biosimilar applicants will not be required to hand over their biosimilar applications and manufacturing dossiers to innovator companies, determines FDA.

Guidance provides labeling standards and an implementation guide for electronic submission of lot distribution reports.

As a result of the decision, Sandoz will be able to immediately launch Zarxio, the first biosimilar in the United States.

BIO and the Colorado BioScience Association urge Colorado Governor Hickenlooper to sign a bill that will help patients gain access to interchangeable biologic products following FDA approvals.

 FDA approved Sandoz’s Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz) on March 6, 2015. The approval is a groundbreaking decision, as Sandoz is the first pharmaceutical company to have a biosimilar product approved in the United States. Known as Zarzio outside of the US, Sandoz says its biosimilar filgrastim is already available in more than 60 countries worldwide, has generated more than 7.5 million patient-days of exposure, and is "the most widely used filgrastim in Europe."

FDA announced that it would postpone a meeting that would be critical for the advancement of Celltrion’s Remicade biosimilar in the US.

Remsima will now be available for patients in 12 additional countries in the European Union.

The Patent and Trademark Office sends notice rejection of the company’s Remicade patent.

The fast growth of the global biopharmaceutical market has prompted global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to increase their R&D investment in biologics.

Hospira’s Inflectra (infliximab), a biosimilar for Remicade, is approved by the European Commission.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence released an updated version of its biosimilar approach guidance, including increased consideration for technology appraisal, references in documentation, and the production of “evidence summaries”.

The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research seeks a more flexible system for assessing biotech product quality.

Pfenex announced that it entered into an agreement to partner with Hospira on the development and commercialization of PF582, a biosimilar candidate to Lucentis.

On February 3, 2015, the FDA published a notice in the Federal Register that it is soliciting input on the collection of data to support interchangeability claims in biosimilar applications.

Amgen announced that it met primary and secondary endpoints in its biosimilar evaluation of adalimumab for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, when compared to Humira.

The deal may offset billions of dollars in waning sales from Pfizer drugs slated to lose patent protection and provides Pfizer with a whole portfolio of biosimilar products.

The 2016 White House Budget proposes a change to the data exclusivity period for biologics and the authority to influence drug pricing.

Investors are lining up for the biosimilars market as patents reach expiration and regulatory pathways are defined.

Developing intellectual property standards for biological products is a point of conflict as negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership continue.

Following a proposal by the World Health Organization, Australia will abandon a previously proposed update in biosimilar nomenclature.

Catalent announced that it would partner with Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company, and its subsidiary MGC Pharma, to promote GPEx technology, a high-titer vector for stable mammalian cell lines.

The move represents Hospira’s first biosimilar submission in the United States.

An FDA panel unanimously recommended the agency approve EP2006, Sandoz’s biosimilar for filgrastim.