On May 31, 2022, Sandoz announced the launch of a new global initiative called “Act4Biosimilars” to help address health inequity and inequality worldwide. Act4Biosimilars aims to increase patient access to advanced medicines by facilitating greater approvability, accessibility, acceptability and affordability (the 4 A’s) of biosimilars. The initiative is supported by…
Late last week, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. filed an antitrust complaint against Amgen Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Regeneron alleges that “Amgen is engaged in a persistent exclusionary campaign to deny patients the life-saving benefits of [] Regeneron’s cholesterol-reducing medication, Praluent® (alirocumab).” According to Regeneron,…
In January 2022, Biogen Inc. announced it had reached an agreement to sell its equity stake in the Samsung Bioepis joint venture to partner Samsung Biologics. On April 20, 2022, Samsung Biologics and Biogen announced that Samsung Biologics has now fully acquired Samsung Bioepis for a total consideration of USD…
Last week, OcyonBio announced a manufacturing and operations agreement to develop biosimilar drug product facilities for Biosimilar Solutions, Inc. in Puerto Rico. According to the press release “OcyonBio is creating an advanced therapy contract development, manufacturing organization (CDMO) that provides pre-clinical through commercial manufacturing, including process development, plasmid DNA, viral…
Earlier this month, Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd. announced that Health Canada approved ONTRUZANT (also known as SB3), a biosimilar referencing Herceptin (Trastuzumab), for the treatment of adults with Early Breast Cancer, Metastatic Breast Cancer and metastatic gastric cancer. ONTRUZANT is Samsung Bioepis’ fifth biosimilar approved for the use in Canada…
Last week, Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. and Organon & Co. announced that the FDA accepted for review their supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for a citrate-free, high-concentration (100 mg/mL) formulation of SB5 (adalimumab-bwwd), a biosimilar referencing HUMIRA (adalimumab). The FDA previously approved SB5 under the brand name HADLIMA as a low-concentration…
As we ring in the new year, we look back at the top U.S. biosimilar market developments of 2021. Here are our top five: 1. SEMGLEE Launches As First-Ever Interchangeable Biosimilar In July, the FDA approved Viatris Inc.’s (formerly Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc.) SEMGLEE (insulin-glargine-yfgn), a biosimilar to LANTUS (insulin glargine)….
On November 25, 2021, Japan-based Mochida Pharmaceutical Co. announced that its adalimumab biosimilar, Adalimumab BS MA, had been launched in Japan following the listing of the drug on the National Health Insurance. According to the press release, Adalimumab BS MA is the first adalimumab biosimilar to Humira currently distributed in…
In October, Express Scripts announced that it would add Viatris’ SEMGLEE (insulin glargine-yfgn) injection as a preferred therapy on its formulary beginning in January 2022. Back in July, the FDA approved SEMGLEE as the first biosimilar insulin to improve glycemic control in adults and pediatric patients with type 1 diabetes and…