On April 26, Representatives Paul D. Tonko (D-NY) and Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced the Star Rating for Biosimilars Act. The proposed legislation would direct the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to evaluate Medicare plans based on whether or not cost-saving biosimilars are available to enrollees and to evaluate…
On May 4, 2021, Amgen Canada announced the launch of their adalimumab biosimilar AMGEVITA (reference drug HUMIRA) for the treatment of 11 chronic inflammatory conditions. AMGEVITA is available as a prefilled syringe and a prefilled pen (SureClick® autoinjector) with a range of pack sizes to support dosing according to the…
On April 20, 2021, Korean company Huon Labs announced that it will develop a PROLIA biosimilar using PanGen Biotech’s cell culture and purification technology. PROLIA (denosumab), an Amgen product, is indicated to reduce the risk of facture in patients with osteoporosis with a particular concentration on patients that are postmenopausal…
The European Commission has approved mAbxience’s bevacizumab biosimilar, MB02, for marketing in Europe. As we previously reported, MB02, which will be known as Alymsys and Oyavas, is intended for the treatment of colon or rectal carcinoma, breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, renal cell cancer, epithelial ovarian cancer, fallopian tube…
On May 3, 2021, Sandoz announced that it will begin enrolling patients in MYLIGHT, a clinical Phase III confirmatory efficacy and safety study for its proposed biosimilar to Regeneron’s EYLEA (aflibercept) product. EYLEA is indicated for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), diabetic macular oedema, macular oedema secondary to retinal vein…
This month, Biogen and Bio-Thera announced a commercialization and license agreement for their proposed tocilizumab biosimilar, currently in Phase 3 trials for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis. BAT1806, a proposed biosimilar to Genentech’s ACTEMRA®, is an anti-interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor monoclonal antibody indicated primarily for moderate to severe…
On April 23, 2021, Congressmen Schrader and Kinzinger introduced H.R. 2815, the Bolstering Innovative Option to Save Immediately on Medicines Act (“BIOSIM Act”). The bill provides for temporary increased reimbursement to hospitals and doctors for biosimilar drugs from the average sales price (ASP) of the drug plus 6% to the…
Boehringer Ingelheim announced earlier this week that results from a phase III study showed that switching several times from Humira® (adalimumab) to Cyltezo® (adalimumab-adbm) produced similar clinical outcomes in the treatment of people with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. The results support Boehringer Ingelheim’s supplemental biologics application to designate Cyltezo® as an interchangeable…
As we previously reported, on February 11, 2021, a three-judge panel of the Federal Circuit affirmed the District Court for the District of Delaware’s grant of Sanofi’s motion for judgment as a matter of law that the asserted claims of two of Amgen’s patents, U.S. Patent Nos. 8,829,165 (the “’165…
Last week, PlantForm Corporation, PlantPraxis Biotecnologia and Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz announced that they are entering into a research and development agreement to develop pembrolizumab, a biosimilar of Keytruda®, for the Brazilian Market. According to the announcement, Bio-Manguinhos is a Brazilian government institution responsible for technology development and production of vaccines, reagents and…