Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2430: FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA) by voice vote. The FDARA seeks, among other things, to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to revise and extend the user-fee programs for prescription drugs, medical devices, generic drugs, and biosimilar…
Today, the District of Delaware reassigned the AbbVie v. Amgen (adalimumab) litigation from retiring Senior Judge Sue L. Robinson to a visiting judge, Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Judge Goldberg is one of four visiting judges from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania to whom the…
There has been some recent activity regarding proposed biosimilars to Roche’s Avastin (bevacizumab). Avastin is indicated for the treatment of various types of cancers, including colorectal, lung, and kidney cancer. The Korea Herald is reporting that the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has approved Celltrion to start Phase…
Merck & Co. and Samsung Bioepis announced today the U.S. launch of Renflexis (infliximab), a biosimilar of Janssen’s Remicade. Renflexis was approved on April 21 by the FDA for all eligible indications. Renflexis will be priced at a 35% discount to the current list price of Remicade (i.e., 65% of…
Sandoz has filed a petition for inter partes review of AbbVie’s U.S. Patent No. 8,802,100 (IPR2017-01823), which claims stable formulations of an anti-TNFα antibody identified in the petition as Humira® (adalimumab). Sandoz also filed a petition for inter partes review of AbbVie’s U.S. Patent No. 9,512,216 (IPR2017-01824), which claims a…
On July 20, 2017, Merck & Co. announced that the FDA granted tentative approval of its 505(b)(2) application for Lusduna™ Nexvue™ (insulin glargine injection), its follow-on version of Sanofi SA’s Lantus. Merck’s product reportedly met all of the required regulatory standards. According to Merck, however, final FDA approval is subject to…
Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued a proposed rule regarding payment policies. Among other things, the proposed rule included a request for comment on the policy for biosimilar reimbursement. A fact sheet prepared by CMS explains that the existing policy, finalized in 2016, provided that…
The FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) unanimously supported biosimilar versions of Roche’s cancer drugs Avastin (bevacizumab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab). Amgen and Allergan’s Avastin biosimilar candidate, ABP 215, was reviewed for six of eight of Avastin’s indications. Mylan and Biocon’s Herceptin biosimilar candidate, MYL-1401O, was reviewed for all of Herceptin’s indications….
On July 12, 2017, Amgen filed a Notice of Withdrawal of its Motion for Preliminary Injunction. As we previously reported, Amgen had filed an amended opening brief in support of its motion for preliminary injunction because of the Supreme Court’s decision in Sandoz v. Amgen. As we previously reported, Hospira…
In an earlier post, we discussed the recent rise in Section 337 proceedings against pharmaceutical products and medical devices at the International Trade Commission. Last week, Bioverativ, which markets the recombinant Factor IX product, Alprolix®, filed a Section 337 complaint against importation of CSL’s Factor IX product, Idelvion®, alongside a patent…