As we previously reported, in September 2017 FDA issued draft guidance entitled Statistical Approaches to Evaluate Analytical Similarity that “describes the type[s] of information a sponsor of a proposed biosimilar product should obtain” to support a showing of analytical similarity to a licensed reference product biologic. Today, FDA withdrew this draft guidance….
As we reported last month, many state legislatures have passed or are considering biosimilar substitution bills. Alaska, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Vermont are the latest states to join this list. Last week, the Alaska legislature passed SB 32, entitled “Prescriptions for Biological Products,” which allows substitution of “an interchangeable biological…
Pegfilgrastim litigation We had previously covered Judge Stark’s grant of Coherus’s motion to dismiss Amgen’s complaint alleging infringement of the ‘707 patent in Amgen v. Coherus. Today, Judge Stark entered judgment against Amgen and dismissed the case. In the Amgen v. Mylan litigation earlier covered here, Mylan recently filed a…
Last week the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (“CHMP”) of the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”) recommended two biosimilar medicines for approval. First, the CHMP adopted a positive opinion for the marketing authorization of Kanjinti® (ABP 980), Amgen and Allergan’s proposed biosimilar to Herceptin® (trastuzumab). The CHMP opinion recommends…
The CREATES Act (Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act), currently pending in Congress states as its aim to promote drug price competition by removing an impediment to the development and approval of lower cost generics or biosimilars. Currently some branded companies are using safety requirements, including restricted…
Last week it was reported (here and here) that Merck launched Samsung Bioepis’ Ontruzant® in the United Kingdom, the first biosimilar trastuzumab launched in Europe. Ontruzant® is a biosimilar of Roche’s Herceptin® and is approved to treat early breast cancer, metastatic breast cancer and metastatic gastric cancer. This launch follows…
Goodwin’s Willy Jay is speaking on a panel this week at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Accessible Medicines, formerly known as the Generic Pharmaceutical Association, Access 2018. Mr. Jay’s panel focuses on issues relating to closing the legal loopholes blocking access to generics and biosimilars. AAM states that…
On February 7, 2018, Lupin announced positive results from a Phase III clinical trial for its etanercept biosimilar candidate, YB113. YB113 is being developed by YL Biologics, a joint venture of Lupin and Yoshido, a Japanese pharmaceutical company. The clinical trial compared the safety and efficacy of YB113 to Amgen’s…
The Journal of Clinical Oncology reported that Merck and Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar to trastuzumab (Herceptin®), SB3, demonstrated equivalence to trastuzumab in recent Phase III trials. According to the report, in a phase III, randomized, double-blind study of 800 women with HER2-positive breast cancer, SB3 induced a rate of breast pathologic complete…
A paper published in the Generics and Biosimilars Initiative Journal reports on “an overview of the available real-world data about the pattern of use and the comparative effectiveness of biosimilars and originator biological drugs in Italy.” The paper, which was based on studies funded by the Italian Ministry of Health,…