As previously reported, Genentech and Tanvex reached an agreement in January 2022 to settle BPCIA litigation relating to Tanvex’s biosimilar of HERCEPTIN (trastuzumab). On February 9, the court entered an order dismissing all claims in the case. Tanvez’s trastuzumab biosimilar has not yet been approved by FDA. Genentech previously settled…
On February 8, 2023, Regeneron announced that the FDA approved its EYLEA® (aflibercept) injection for the treatment of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in preterm infants—the first pediatric approval for this indication. Regeneron reported that the approval is supported by data from FIREFLEYE and BUTTERFLEYE—two phase III clinical trials comparing 0.4…
Big Molecule Watch monitors for biosimilar clinical trial results. Here we report on four recent announcements concerning biosimilars of natalizumab, trastuzumab, daratumumab, and aflibercept. On January 23, 2023, researchers published the results of a phase III clinical trial demonstrating that PB006, Polpharma Biologics SA’s biosimilar to Biogen’s approved treatment TYSABRI®…
STADA and Xbrane Announce Approval of Ranibizumab Biosimilar in UK On January 16, 2023, STADA Arzneimittel AG (STADA) and Xbrane Biopharyma AB (Xbrane) announced that the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has granted marketing authorization for XIMLUCI (ranibizumab), a biosimilar of LUCENTIS. XIMLUCI is an anti-VEGF (vascular…
According to news reports, Celltrion recently launched VEGZELMA (bevacizumab) in Japan. In September 2022, the drug received sales approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and more. Japan is home to the world’s second largest bevacizumab…
Amgen announced today the launch of AMJEVITA (adalimumab-atto), a biosimilar to AbbVie’s HUMIRA (adalimumab), in the United States. AMJEVITA was the first HUMIRA biosimilar approved by the FDA and is now the first to be launched in the United States. AMJEVITA is approved to treat seven inflammatory diseases, including moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis in adults,…
On January 19, 2023, the FDA Commissioner, Robert M. Califf, delivered remarks at the FDA-USPTO Public Workshop. He noted that, since the issuance of President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Competition, the FDA and USPTO have been working together to leverage their combined expertise to promote competition and access…
Last week, Celltrion filed an IPR petition, PTAB IPR2023-00462, seeking cancellation of claims 1-18 of U.S. Patent No. 10,464,992 (“the ’992 patent”), assigned to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. According to the Petition, the challenged claims of the ’992 patent “encompass a formulation comprising the VEGF inhibitor protein, aflibercept, which Regeneron markets…
Kevin DeJong (Senior Editor) and Shweta Kumar (Editor) from the Big Molecule Watch recently interviewed Rachel Goode, Ph.D. to discuss an article she recently co-authored, “Biological patent thickets and delayed access to biosimilars, an American problem.”[1] The article, published in the Journal of Law and the Biosciences, examines whether patent…
On January 24, Alvotech and Bioventure, a subsidiary of GlobalOne Healthcare Holding LLC, announced that the Saudi Food & Drug Authority has approved SIMLANDI, a biosimilar referencing HUMIRA (adalimumab), in Saudi Arabia. According to the press release, Bioventure is Alvotech’s exclusive strategic partner for the commercialization of SIMLANDI in the…