On April 25, 2023, Bristol-Myers Squibb (“BMS”) filed a complaint in the District of Delaware against AstraZeneca related to AstraZeneca’s anti-PD-L1 antibody product, IMFINZI (durvalumab), alleging willful infringement of U.S. Patent No. 9,402,899 (“the ’899 patent”). BMS alleges that the ’899 patent covers “Nobel Prize winning methods of treating cancer”…
FDA’s Purple Book provides a searchable database of licensed biological products and includes the patent information provided to biosimilar applicants during the BPCIA patent dance. Pursuant to a law enacted in late 2020, a reference product sponsor must provide patent information to FDA for listing in the Purple Book once…
On March 20, 2023, Coya Therapeutics, Inc. (“Coya”) announced a worldwide agreement with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. (“Dr. Reddy’s”) to license Dr. Reddy’s proposed biosimilar abatacept for the development and commercialization of COYA 302 for the treatment of neurodegenerative conditions. COYA 302 is a dual biologic comprised of COYA 301 and…
On Feb 12, 2023, Biocon Biologics announced that the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) for its Biologics License Application (BLA) for its biosimilar referencing AVASTIN (bevacizumab), previously submitted by Viatris. Biocon Biologics completed the multi-billion dollar acquisition of Viatris’s global biosimilar business in December 2022. The CRL relates…
On Jan 6, 2023, Alvotech and Teva announced that the FDA has accepted for review a Biologics License Application (BLA) for AVT04, Alvotech’s proposed biosimilar to STELARA (ustekinumab), and stated that the companies anticipate that the FDA’s review will be completed in the second half of 2023. In August 2020,…
Alvotech announced yesterday the initiation of a pharmacokinetic study for AVT05, a biosimilar referencing Johnson & Johnson’s (“J&J”) SIMPONI and SIMPONI ARIA (golimumab). SIMPONI is used to treat certain types of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), active ankylosing spondylitis (AS), and ulcerative colitis (UC). The study will assess…
On Jan 9, Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (“Coherus”) announced that it has agreed to acquire the exclusive commercialization rights to FYB203, a biosimilar referencing EYLEA (aflibercept) from Klinge Biopharma GmbH (“Klinge Biopharma”) in the US. The parties expect to complete the transaction in Q1 2023. Coherus plans to file an abbreviated…
According to PwC, “2022 has been a challenging year for M&A in the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, with both deal value and volume at multiyear lows thanks to overall macro headwinds coupled with broad-based market dislocation.” PwC expects “M&A to more closely resemble prior years with a total deal…
Alvotech announced yesterday the launch of HUKYNDRA, a high-concentration, low-volume, citrate-free biosimilar to HUMIRA (adalimumab), in Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Latvia, Romania, and Slovenia. Through a strategic partnership with STADA, Alvotech supplies HUKYNDRA (adalimumab) autoinjectors and pre-filled syringes with drug product and drug substance manufactured in its vertically integrated…
Last week, AbbVie held its third quarter 2022 earnings conference call, which included considerable discussion of forthcoming competition with biosimilars to HUMIRA (adalimumab) in 2023. Some highlights below: According to Rick Gonzalez, AbbVie Chairman and CEO, “[t]he current market dynamics do not change our long-term guidance for aesthetics and we…