Welcome to the Big Molecule Watch!

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Goodwin’s award-winning Big Molecule Watch is the best resource for daily updates and analyses of regulatory issues, litigation, legislation, and other news in the world of biologics, biosimilars and related technologies. The editors of this blog have collectively been watching and engaging with the world of biologics and biosimilars (“big molecules”) since before the inception of the biosimilar industry in the U.S.  With extensive experience representing clients at all stages of a biologic’s or biosimilar’s lifecycle, from research and development, to patents, to regulatory application and approval, and through litigation and appeals, we are excited to share our observations and insights as the industry and the law continues to develop in this exciting area.

This blog focuses on “big molecules” as opposed to “small molecules.” Small molecule drugs have low molecular weight, a simple and well-defined structure, and are chemically synthesized. In contrast, “big molecule” drugs have high molecular weight, complex structures, and are derived from living organisms. For example, aspirin is small molecule while a monoclonal antibody is a big molecule. For further reading on big molecules, consider FDA's resources on biologics.

Coherus Announces Marketing Authorization Application to the EMA for Pegfilgrastim Biosimilar

Coherus BioSciences, Inc., a global biosimilar company, is currently advancing three late-stage clinical products towards commercialization, namely CHS-1701 (pegfilgrastim biosimilar), CHS-0214 (etanercept biosimilar) and CHS-1420 (adalimumab biosimilar). In October, we reported that the FDA accepted Coherus’s aBLA for their pegfilgrastim biosimilar CHS-1701. Today, Coherus announced the acceptance of a Marketing…

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District Court Stays Janssen’s Infliximab Lawsuit Against HyClone

On November 15, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah entered a stipulated order to stay Janssen’s pending lawsuit against HyClone Laboratories, which supplies cell culture media for manufacturing Celltrion’s Inflectra® (infliximab-dyyb) biosimilar product.  Under the order, the Utah case will be stayed pending resolution of Janssen’s ongoing…

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Regulatory News Roundup

The following are some noteworthy news stories on the regulatory front: The FDA shared best practices for biosimilar development. The EMA okayed a combination of insulin glargine and lixisenatide for treatment of type-2 diabetes. If approved, which is usually a formality within around 60 days, the EU will be the first…

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Scheduling Order Entered in AbbVie v. Amgen

On Thursday, Judge Robinson entered a scheduling order in the AbbVie v. Amgen (adalimumab) case.  Among other things, the order sets a 20-day bench trial beginning November 4, 2019. The order also establishes a number of discovery and hearing deadlines that are somewhat different than those initially proposed before the…

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Regulators Highlight Differing International Biosimilar Regulations; Interchangeability Guidance May Slip to 2017

Bloomberg BNA reported that a panel of regulators at the DIA 2016 Biosimilar Conference in Washington highlighted the differences among biosimilar regulations internationally and the ongoing changes as countries revise their biosimilar guidances. For instance, in Canada, biosimilars are regulated as new biologics as opposed to the U.S.’s abbreviated pathways…

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