On Tuesday, August 11, Samsung Biologics announced it will invest $2 billion to build a new pharmaceutical “super plant” in Incheon, South Korea. According to the press release, the new facility is part of Samsung’s long term strategy to maximize its operational efficiency and scale up its development and manufacturing…
Roche has provided an update on its phase III study program comprising four Phase 3 trials evaluating the investigational medicine etrolizumab in people with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. These trials are titled HIBISCUS I, HIBISCUS II, HICKORY, and . Roche has reported that in the HIBISCUS I induction…
On August 10, 2020, Equillium, Inc. announced its interim data for its study of itolizumab as a first-line treatment in patients with acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). GVHD is a multisystem disorder that is a common complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants, and is the leading cause of non-relapse mortality…
Last week, Vizient, a healthcare performance improvement company, released its Summer 2020 Drug Price Forecast. In the forecast, Vizient reported on the role of COVID-19 in changing healthcare priorities and affecting spending. Particularly, it advised its member health care groups to hedge against drug price inflation, which it estimated will…
Today Alvotech and Teva announced that they have entered into an exclusive strategic partnership for the commercialization of five biosimilar candidates in the U.S. Under the partnership agreement, Alvotech will be responsible for the development, registration and supply of the biosimilars, and Teva will be exclusively commercializing the products in…
Celltrion recently announced that its trastuzumab biosimilar, Herzuma, has met the World Health Organization’s (WHO) prequalification standards. WHO prequalification status is based on an assessment of the quality, safety, and efficacy of a medicine and enables the recipient to participate in UN procurement tenders. Herzuma has been commercially available in Europe since May 2018,…
As we previously reported, Genentech and JHL Biotech reached a settlement agreement resolving the parties’ lawsuit regarding JHL’s alleged misappropriation of trade secrets relating to Genentech’s Rituxan® (rituximab), Herceptin® (trastuzumab), Avastin® (bevacizumab), and Pulmozyme® (dornase alfa) products. However, the case continued against the four former Genentech employees as individual defendants, although…
On July 23, 2020, Centus Biotherapeutics received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for EQUIDACENT, a biosimilar to AVASTIN (bevacizumab), intended for the treatment of carcinoma of the colon or rectum, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, renal cell cancer,…
Regeneron’s EYLEA (aflibercept) was approved by the U.S. FDA on November 18, 2011 and is indicated for the treatment of patients with Neovascular (Wet) Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), Macular Edema following Retinal Vein Occlusion (RVO), Diabetic Macular Edema (DME), and Diabetic Retinopathy (DR). As previously reported, Momenta in collaboration with Mylan began…
Yesterday, India-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals announced the launch of its bevacizumab biosimilar for the Indian market under the brand name BEVARO. Bevacizumab is a biosimilar of Genentech’s AVASTIN and is indicated for the treatment of multiple cancers, including ovarian cancer, glioblastoma multiforme, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer, and…