Below are IPR updates from this week. LANTUS On December 13, 2017, the Board instituted two IPRs on Mylan’s petitions (IPR2017-01526 and IPR2017-01528) challenging Sanofi’s U.S. Patent Nos. 7,713,930 and 7,476,652, respectively, both related to insulin glargine. As we have reported, both patents are the subject of litigation pending in the…
On August 8, Sanofi-Aventis filed a complaint for patent infringement against Merck Sharp & Dohme in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey regarding Merck’s proposed follow-on biologics of Sanofi-Aventis’s Lantus® and Lantus® SoloSTAR® ([rDNA origin] insulin glargine) subcutaneous injection vial products. The complaint alleges infringement of two patents: U.S….
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…
Mylan has filed two petitions for inter partes review of Sanofi’s patents related to insulin glargine: IPR2017-01526 on U.S. Patent 7,476,652, and IPR2017-01528 on U.S. Patent 7,713,930. Insulin glargine is marketed under the tradename Lantus®. As we have reported, both the ‘652 and ‘930 patents are the subject of litigation…
Last fall, we reported on Pfizer’s 30% price cut to Enbrel® (etanercept) to comply with Ireland’s Framework Agreement on the Supply and Pricing of Medicines, which requires price reductions for off-patent branded biologic medicines for which biosimilars are available. Yesterday, the Irish Times published a follow-up article describing some of the market…
In August 2016, we reported that CVS dropped Neupogen® (filgrastim) and Lantus® (insulin glargine) from its standard formulary and replaced them with biosimilar versions. Hikes in insulin drug prices have prompted pharmacies and insurers to change their formularies in favor of biosimilar alternatives, as reported this week by USA Today. In…
Here are our picks for the top-five most significant U.S. market developments in the world of biosimilars in 2016: The FDA approved three biosimilar products in 2016, compared to only one in 2015 — Sandoz’s Zarxio®, a biosimilar version of Amgen’s Neupogen® (filgrastim). The first 2016 approval was Celltrion and Pfizer’s Inflectra®…
Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that their insulin glargine injection product, Basaglar® (a follow-on biologic for Sanofi’s Lantus®), is now available by prescription in the U.S. Although Basaglar is approved as a biosimilar for Lantus in Europe, in the U.S., Basaglar is not technically considered a biosimilar. In the U.S.,…
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, (“CHMP”), the committee at the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) that is responsible for preparing opinions on questions concerning medicines for human use met earlier this week and recommended approval of nine medicines to the EMA. Of the nine medicines recommended for approval,…
According to a report this morning from Seeking Alpha, FDA is expected to approve Amgen’s application for a biosimilar version of AbbVie’s Humira (adalimumab) today. If approved, it will be the first biosimilar adalimumab product approved by FDA, and the fourth product to be approved under the BPCIA’s abbreviated approval pathway for biosimilars…