Policy

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 biosimilars articles for the week of January 22, 2018.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has launched a survey of pharmaceutical companies to assess their preparedness for the United Kingdom’s upcoming withdrawal from the European Union, as it hopes to identify any concerns about the continued supply of drugs during the Brexit transition.

The report from Trinity Partners details findings from qualitative research with 10 medical directors at US payer organizations, representing plans covering over 100 million commercial and Medicare enrollees in the United States.

Congress has passed a short-term spending package that will fund the government through February 8, 2018, and allow the FDA to resume normal operations.

The Brazilian Society of Clinical Oncology has released its official position on the use of biosimilars in oncology. Thus far, only 2 oncology biosimilars (filgrastim and trastuzumab) have been approved for use in Brazil, though the number of applications filed with the National Health Surveillance Agency is expected to grow steadily in the coming years.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 biosimilars articles for the week of January 15, 2018.

On January 11, Celltrion and its partner Teva filed 2 new lawsuits against Genentech in a California district court.

The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced yesterday that it will not make any sudden changes to the nation’s regulatory framework following the country’s exit from the European Union.

Three European nations are amending their policies in order to create better conditions for biosimilar uptake and the cost savings that biosimilars provide to health systems.

MedPAC called for changes to Medicare Part D to remove the financial disincentives that block the use of lower-cost biosimilar therapies.

Innovator drug developer Genentech, maker of the biologic therapies Avastin (bevacizumab) and Rituxan (rituximab), faces challenges from biosimilar developers in the United States and abroad. This week saw developments in cases concerning both molecules in US and Japanese courts of law.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 biosimilars articles for the week of January 8, 2018.

Seth Ginsberg, co-founder and president of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, explains how "fail-first" policies, or step therapy, affect patients.

While the European experience with biosimilars is one of significant uptake of biosimilars, individual European nations have had distinctly different levels of uptake. These differences are largely due to local variation in pricing and reimbursement, education levels, population characteristics, and stakeholder incentives.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 biosimilars articles for the week of January 1, 2018.

AbbVie is increasing Humira's price by 9.7%. That price increase could add $1.2 billion to the US healthcare system’s drug costs in 2018, according to one analyst.

On January 2, counsel for the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe filed a motion for discovery and requested an oral hearing concerning which judges will sit on the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) panel that oversees its case.

Can lower cost biosimilars create a policy solution for seniors enrolled in the Medicare Coverage Gap Discount Program?

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the most-read articles of 2017.

Elan Rubinstein, PharmD, MPH, voiced his frustration with the lack of presence the pharmacy profession has had in the negotiations of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

The Center for Biosimilars recounts 4 of the top legal developments in the biosimilars space during 2017.

Biosimilar drugs significantly influence the reimbursement systems of 10 Central and Eastern European countries, and the expenditure on the reimbursement of biosimilars (percentage of drug price covered by public payers) in those countries is increasing as biosimilars become more accessible to patients.

2017 brought a number of notable guests to The Center for Biosimilars®. Here are the most-watched interviews of the year.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the the top 5 articles for the week of December 18, 2017.

The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that retail drug spending accounted for about 12% of total personal healthcare service spending in the United States in 2015, up from about 7% through the 1990s.

Developments at the FDA and greater physician acceptance of biosimilars made 2017 a banner year for emerging therapies, according to James Stevenson, PharmD, FASHP, professor of clinical pharmacy at the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy.

On December 19, Richard Seeborg, US district judge for the Northern District of California, granted a summary judgment of noninfringement in Amgen v Sandoz.

Tax disclosure forms for 2016 show that the pharmaceutical industry’s biggest trade group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), raised revenue by almost one-fourth and spent the millions collected among hundreds of lobbyists, politicians, and patient groups—the largest income surge reported by the group since 2009, when it was mobilizing forces to advance the industry’s interests prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Last week’s ruling in the federal circuit, which held that state law cannot compel biosimilar applicants to participate in the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) “patent dance,” has raised questions about how the case will impact the BPCIA in the days ahead. Yet Kevin M. Nelson, JD, partner at Schiff Hardin’s Hatch-Waxman and biosimilars practice, told The Center for Biosimilars® in an interview, that, “For the BPCIA, I don’t think it means much.” In Nelson’s view, the most significant impact that the ruling will have is on the early case assessments that biosimilar applicants undertake when determining whether they will take part in the information exchange process.

Mylan has announced that the US Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) has instituted inter partes review (IPR) proceedings on all claims against 2 patents that cover Sanofi’s innovator insulin glargine injection, Lantus.