Amgen Canada Launches Adalimumab Biosimilar

Amgen Canada has launched its adalimumab biosimilar (Amgevita), referencing Humira. The biosimilar is available for all indications of the reference product. These include rheumatoid arthritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn disease, and ulcerative colitis.

"We are pleased that Amgevita is now available in Canada, offering patients and physicians a treatment option and flexibility of choice in therapies they may not otherwise have," said Suna Avcil, executive medical director, Amgen Canada.

The company said Amgevita is now covered by public drug plans in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. The biosimilar is available in prefilled syringe and prefilled pen forms.

Recently, Alberta expanded its biosimilar switching program to include adalimumab versions. Starting May 1, roughly 3300 patients currently prescribed Humira will switch to 1 of 5 adalimumab biosimilars. According to Biosimilars Canada, a trade group, adalimumab is one of the top selling biologics in Canada, where adalimumab biosimilars entered the market in February 2021. Alberta, British Columbia, and New Brunswick each have instituted switching policies to get patients started on lower cost biosimilar forms of adalimumab.

For more about Canada's biosimilar switching policies, click here.