Oncology

In Updated Phase 3 Results, Innovent's Bevacizumab Biosimilar Shows Similarity to Avastin

September 23rd 2019

By Kelly Davio

During last week’s 22nd Annual Meeting of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology, held from September 18-22 in Xiamen, China, drug maker Innovent Biologics presented updated results for its proposed bevacizumab biosimilar, IBI305, in an oral session.

Fixed-Dose, Subcutaneous Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab Combination Meets Primary End Point in Phase 3 Study

September 19th 2019

By The Center for Biosimilars Staff

By providing time-saving options for treatment, Roche may be able to secure market share for its innovator biologics if savings in terms of chair time for patients are able to offset the eventual price discounts made available by biosimilar developers for their products.

A Decade of Biosimilar Filgrastim Experience Highlights the Scientific Basis for Extrapolation, Study Says

September 17th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Sandoz’s biosimilar filgrastim was first approved in Europe in 2009 under the name Zarzio (later, the same drug was approved as Zarxio in the United States). Since that time, the number of biosimilars approved for use in the oncology field has grown substantially, and a recent review says that the past decade of experience with biosimilar filgrastim underscores the strong scientific basis for the extrapolation of indications for biosimilars.

Giving Specialty Drugs Outside Hospital Settings Could Save $4 Billion Annually, Report Says

September 9th 2019

By Allison Inserro

A new report released Monday by UnitedHealth Group finds that administering specialty drugs—which are typically injected or infused—in homes or in independent physician offices instead of hospitals could save as much as $4 billion each year.

Howard Burris, MD, FACP, FASCO: Adoption of Anticancer Biosimilars

September 6th 2019

Howard Burris, MD, FACP, FASCO, president of clinical operations and chief medical officer of Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses the adoption of oncology biosimilars.

TOT Biopharm's Proposed Bevacizumab Biosimilar Shows PK Similarity to Avastin

September 5th 2019

By Kelly Davio

China-based drug maker TOT Biopharm is developing TAB008 as a biosimilar of the reference bevacizumab, Avastin. TOT has recently indicated that it is in the midst of a phase 3 clinical trial of the biosimilar, and last month, results of a phase 1 study of the biosimilar were published in Frontiers in Pharmacology.

Henlius Investigating Proposed Biosimilar Bevacizumab in Combination With Novel Antibody Targeting PD-1

August 29th 2019

By The Center for Biosimilars Staff

Drug maker Henlius Biotech is recruiting patients for a single-center, open-label, dose-escalation phase 1 clinical trial that will evaluate the safety and tolerability of combination therapy with a biosimilar bevacizumab and an anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Data From 11 Head-to-Head Trials Underscore Safety, Efficacy of Biosimilar Rituximab Products

August 28th 2019

By Kelly Davio

A new paper published this month may help to allay some concerns that US providers may have about using FDA-approved biosimilar rituximab.

Reducing Adjuvant Chemotherapy Dose Too Early May Impact Breast Cancer Survival

August 26th 2019

By Allison Inserro

Early dose reductions in the adjuvant chemotherapy combination of 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel negatively impacted survival rates for patients with intermediate- or high-risk breast cancer.

Given On-Body Injector Failure With Pegfilgrastim, Biosimilar Filgrastim Offers Greatest Cost Efficiency

August 26th 2019

By Kelly Davio

Administering the brand-name pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) via an on-body injection device (sold as Onpro) carries some risk of device failure, resulting in a missed or partial dose of pegfilgrastim. A recent cost simulation found that, when taking this failure into account, assured prophylaxis with biosimilar filgrastim offers the greatest cost efficiency.