Kelly Davio

November 23, 2018

A recent study sought to clarify factors that could predict therapeutic response to infliximab in Japanese patients with Crohn disease (CD), and found 4 key indicators that may predict response in clinical practice.

November 22, 2018

Despite the extensive body of literature on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), the exact causes of the disease are not fully understood. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF) is known to play a key role in the disease by stimulating catabolic processes and causing inflammation, and important elements of inflammation include changes in extracellular matrix compounds and their constituents, such as glycosaminoglycans.

November 22, 2018

Bevacizumab, an anti–vascular endothelial growth factor treatment for which 1 biosimilar has been approved to date, has been shown to improve quality of life for patients with glioblastoma—and to delay disease progression—but has not prolonged patients’ overall survival. However, recent research suggests that using 4 older drugs together with bevacizumab could provide a more effective treatment protocol.

November 21, 2018

While the United Kingdom (UK) was a slow adopter of biosimilars compared with many of its European counterparts, recent years have seen a steady uptick in biosimilar use. A new qualitative study, using semistructured interviews with healthcare providers in the United Kingdom’s West Midlands region, sought to assess attitudes toward biosimilars in the clinical specialties of diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and rheumatology.

November 21, 2018

Some studies have found that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) therapies are underused for the prophylaxis of febrile neutropenia (FN) in Europe, but the widespread availability of cheaper biosimilar options has led to increased use. A new study, published in BMC Cancer, sought to examine the use of the biosimilar filgrastim, Zarzio, in relationship to European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) guidelines.

November 20, 2018

Denmark’s national authorities have confirmed to The Center for Biosimilars® that AbbVie's Humira did not offer the lowest price for adalimumab in either of 2 national tenders.

November 19, 2018

In many regulatory territories, patients with Crohn disease (CD) who lose response to adalimumab at a dose of 40 mg given every other week may be given an escalation to 40 mg every week. However, in Japan, where adalimumab is typically administered by a healthcare provider rather than by the patient, a study investigated the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of adalimumab after a dose escalation to 80 mg every other week as a means to reduce the need for additional patient appointments.

November 19, 2018

During the 83rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology, researchers from the United Kingdom reported on yet another large, nonmedical switch from reference infliximab to biosimilar CT-P13 (Inflectra, Remsima), this time in the Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust.

November 13, 2018

During this week’s International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 2018 European meeting, the role of biosimilars in oncology is the subject of several research presentations, all of which underscore the importance of these agents in increasing patient access and driving down costs.

November 13, 2018

This week, healthcare economics stakeholders have gathered in Barcelona, Spain, for the 2018 annual European meeting of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research. During the meeting, research teams from around the globe are presenting findings that support the use of biosimilar infliximab as a cost-saving measure.