Business

Patient Groups, Others Ask HHS to End Part B Cost Sharing for Biosimilars

September 5th 2019

By Allison Inserro

More than 20 groups, representing patients, employers, and others, are asking HHS to end cost-sharing for Medicare Part B patients when a provider administers a biosimilar rather than a reference biologic.

Throwing in the Towel on Biosimilars Wouldn't Be Easy, Expert Says

September 5th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

Amitabh Chandra, PhD, Ethel Zimmerman Wiener professor of public policy and director of health policy research at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, says that while price regulation is not impossible, “It’s very, very hard to do. Given that it’s hard to do, do we need to do it?”

Public Opinion of Pharma Industry Hits Lowest Point Ever in Gallup Poll

September 4th 2019

By Allison Inserro

Article

The pharmaceutical industry hit bottom in public opinion, ranking last in Gallup’s list of 25 industries, according to a new annual poll.

Eye on Pharma: Celltrion Will Contract With Lonza to Manufacture CT-P13

September 4th 2019

By The Center for Biosimilars Staff

Article

Celltrion announced this week that it will contract with Swiss biologics maker Lonza to manufacture biosimilar infliximab CT-P13, sold as Remsima and Inflectra, in Singapore.

National Health Service Reports Substantial Savings From Biosimilar Adalimumab

September 4th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

England’s National Health Service (NHS) says that it has saved £110 million (US $134 million) by implementing its policy to use the best-value adalimumab after the brand-name Humira lost European patent protection in October 2018.

PTAB Will Review Key Patents on Brand-Name Eculizumab, Soliris

September 3rd 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

Last week, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) instituted 3 inter partes review proceedings concerning patents on Alexion’s brand-name eculizumab, Soliris, a complement inhibitor that treats rare diseases. Amgen is the petitioner in all 3 cases, which were filed in February of this year.

Mylan and Biocon Get a Second CRL for Insulin Glargine Follow-on

September 3rd 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

Over the weekend, drug maker Biocon disclosed that it and partner Mylan have been issued a second Complete Response Letter (CRL) for their follow-on insulin glargine product referencing Lantus.

Sandoz to Commercialize Biosimilar of MS Drug, Natalizumab

September 3rd 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

Sandoz, a Novartis division, announced today that it has entered into a global commercialization agreement with Poland-based Polpharma Biologics for a proposed natalizumab biosimilar referencing Biogen’s Tysabri. Natalizumab is a disease-modifying therapy used to treat relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) as well as Crohn disease.

Dutch Experience Demonstrates Effective Benchmarking of Biosimilar Use in Health Systems

August 31st 2019

By The Center for Biosimilars Staff

Article

As medicines become more numerous and often more expensive, healthcare professionals seek new ways to understand which treatments are most likely to yield the best outcomes at sustainable costs.

Biosimilar Business Roundup: August 2019

August 30th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

In the oncology realm, August 2019’s biggest business development was the forward momentum of Amgen’s 2 newly debuted oncology biosimilars, and perhaps the biggest news in the biosimilar space from the inflammatory disease perspective also involved Amgen and its involvement in a long-running patent dispute.