Practice

Infliximab Did Not Result in Lower Rate of Hospitalizations, Surgeries in Canadian Study

June 13th 2019

By Allison Inserro

The introduction of infliximab for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) did not result in lower population rates of hospitalizations or intestinal surgeries among patients living with IBD in Ontario, Canada, according to a study published Thursday.

Working Group Releases Recommendations for Improving Treatment of IBD in Asia Through Biologics, Biosimilars

June 12th 2019

By Allison Inserro

Article

A new consensus paper from the Asia-Pacific Working Group on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) released a set of best practices for improving IBD care with biologics and biosimilars.

"Biomimics" Are Not Biosimilars, PANLAR Statement Warns

June 10th 2019

By Allison Inserro

Article

A consensus statement developed by the Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology (PANLAR) regarding biosimilars warned against the use of so-called "biomimics," or copy biologics.

Systematic Literature Review Calls Economic Impact of Switching to Biosimilars "Uncertain"

June 10th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

“This systematic literature review found that the overall economic impact of biosimilar [nonmedical switching] remains uncertain,” write the investigators. More real-world studies will be necessary, they indicate, to quantify the full economic impact of nonmedical switches over the short and long term.

Early Biologic Treatment for Patients With RA Is Cost-Effective, Study Says

June 7th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

Early treatment with a biosimilar agent increased total costs by £70 (US $89) per patient versus standard intervention.

MS Experts in Latin America Publish Recommendations for Biosimilar Policies

June 3rd 2019

By Allison Inserro

Article

With patents on reference products that treat multiple sclerosis (MS) set to expire soon in the region, a panel of experts in Latin America recently published a set of recommendations regarding the efficacy, safety, and quality of biosimilars in these countries.

Bevacizumab Could Help Patients With NSCLC Who Cannot Receive PD-1 Inhibitors

June 2nd 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

“Our results suggest that in patients with a contraindication to immunotherapy, such as connective tissue, rheumatologic, or interstitial lung disease, bevacizumab may be a reasonable alternative, instead of pembrolizumab, to add to carboplatin-pemetrexed,” said lead author, Stephen J. Bagley, MD, MSCE, assistant professor of hematology-oncology at Abramson Cancer Center, in a statement.

Real-World Data Suggest CT-P13 Carries Lower Risk of Infection Than Remicade

May 29th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

Infliximab and its biosimilars are often used as a treatment for ulcerative colitis (UC), and recent years have seen the collection of real-world data on the use of biosimilar CT-P13 (Inflectra, Remsima) that confirm the product’s equivalent efficacy to that of the reference, Remicade. One newly published study, which assessed patient data from a French nationwide health administrative database, found that not only is biosimilar CT-P13 as effective as the reference product in treating UC, it may also have a lower risk of serious infections.

UnitedHealthcare Will Prefer Brand-Name Pegfilgrastim Starting in July 2019

May 29th 2019

By The Center for Biosimilars Staff

Article

In its May 2019 network bulletin, UnitedHealthcare announced that, as of July 1, it will prefer the use of brand-name pegfilgrastim, Amgen’s Neulasta, over biosimilar options.

In Pediatric Patients With IBD, Switching to CT-P13 Does Not Affect PK, Immunogenicity, or Efficacy

May 27th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Article

All children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who were receiving maintenance infliximab at a single center between 2017 and 2018 were included in the study.