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.

Breaking News: Supreme Court Denies Cert. in Apotex v. Amgen

Today, the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Apotex v. Amgen, a closely-watched case involving the interpretation of key provisions of the BPCIA.  Our most recent blog coverage can be found here. Even though the Court has declined to hear Apotex v. Amgen, the Supreme Court has before it another vehicle for addressing the hotly-contested…

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Analysis of Solicitor General's Brief in Sandoz v. Amgen

As we posted earlier this week, the Acting Solicitor General (“SG”), on December 7th,  filed an amicus brief in which it (a) recommended that the Supreme Court grant Sandoz’s cert petition and Amgen’s conditional cross-cert petition regarding how to interpret important provisions of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (“BPCIA”), and…

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Guidance on Biosimilar Submission Requirements in Canada

Health Canada, the federal regulatory authority that evaluates the safety, efficacy, and quality of drugs available in Canada recently released a revised Guidance Document on Information and Submission Requirements for Biosimilar Drugs (“Guidance”).  The Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate (BGTD) within the Health Products and Food Branch of Health Canada is the…

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Celltrion and Hospira Have Launched Inflectra® in U.S.

This past April, the FDA approved Inflectra® (infliximab-dyyb), Celltrion and Hospira’s biosimilar of Janssen’s Remicade®.  According to papers filed in the Federal Circuit this week, Celltrion and Hospira (collectively, “Celltrion”) have now launched Inflectra® in the United States.  On December 6, Celltrion stated that it “recently launched in the United…

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Updates on Rituximab Proposed Biosimilars

The past few days have seen a lot of activity on the rituximab biosimilar front. According to a joint press release, Sanofi and JHL Biotech, a biopharmaceutical company based in China, formed an alliance to collaborate on the development and commercialization of a rituximab biosimilar and various pharmaceutical products in China….

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Mylan-Biocon Publish Positive Results for Proposed Trastuzumab Biosimilar

Earlier this year, we reported that Mylan and Biocon submitted an aBLA for MYL-1401O, a proposed biosimilar to Genentech’s Herceptin® (trastuzumab).  Earlier this week, an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), titled Effect of a Proposed Trastuzumab Biosimilar Compared With Trastuzumab on Overall Response Rate in Patients With ERBB2…

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