April 24th 2024
Two posters from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) annual meeting explore how an interchangeable insulin glargine biosimilar plays into Medicaid budgets and the top factors driving access to biosimilars.
Costs of Dose Escalation in RA Likely to Be Offset by Savings From Infliximab Biosimilars
December 19th 2019Using a biosimilar can produce substantial cost savings in patients who are receiving infliximab therapy for inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but dose escalations, which are frequent for those who use infliximab, can increase the cost of therapy, even with a biosimilar.
Proactively Versus Reactively Measuring CT-P13 Trough Levels Did Not Improve 1-Year Outcomes in IBD
December 9th 2019As yet, there exists no consensus as to whether proactive or reactive monitoring is the most appropriate approach in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who receive infliximab therapy.
Nocebo Effect Can Hamper Biosimilar Acceptance, Review Says
December 6th 2019Interestingly, nocebo effects may also be induced by exposure to information shared online, through social media, through drug advertisements, and advertised descriptions or warnings about health-related conditions. The effect can be profound; the authors said negative expectations underlying nocebo phenomena have been shown to alter activity in certain regions of the brain.
Is It Time to Look Beyond Price With Biosimilars?
December 5th 2019While there is no question that falling prices that come with competition are cause for optimism in the United States, which is burdened by rising drug costs, some experts from Europe caution that a focus on price alone misses key reasons to use biosimilars.
Retrospective Study of 56 Million Patients Shows Reduced Risk of Alzheimer With Anti-TNF Use
December 5th 2019Researchers from biotech company Tetra Therapeutics have reported that, in their retrospective population-based study of 56 million patients with inflammatory diseases, use of anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) agents was linked with a reduced risk of Alzheimer disease.
More Evidence Supports Introducing Adalimumab Early in Patients With CD
December 3rd 2019In Crohn disease (CD), anti–tumor necrosis factor therapies like adalimumab have provided an alternative to long-term corticosteroid therapy and have reduced the need for many patients to have surgical interventions. It has been proposed that early treatment with biologics may lead to better outcomes and fewer complications—like strictures and fistulae—and findings from a recent study support that assertion.
Mylan and Biocon Launch Biosimilar Trastuzumab, Ogivri, in the United States
December 2nd 2019Mylan and Biocon have announced that their biosimilar trastuzumab, Ogivri, has become commercially available in the United States. The biosimilar, referencing Herceptin, is now available in a 420-mg multidose vial and a 150-mg single-dose vial.
Nordic Study Shows Similar Retention Rates for Biosimilar and Reference Etanercept, Infliximab
November 25th 2019Nordic countries have had some of the highest rates of biosimilar use, and extensive registry data in these countries also allow for observational studies of biosimilar use in real-world clinical practice. A new study used data from 5 such registries—which included more than 2000 patients with spondyloarthritis—to assess retention rates for those treated with biosimilars or reference products of etanercept and infliximab.
More Data Needed on Using Biologics in Children, Review Says
November 18th 2019A recent review explored the evidence of monoclonal antibodies (mAb) and fusion proteins (FP) to examine their safety and efficacy in the most common chronic inflammatory diseases in children—bronchial asthma, psoriasis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).
Anti-VEGFs May Provide Substantial Economic Value to Patients and Society in Treating Wet AMD
November 18th 2019The field of biosimilar contenders for anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapies is taking shape, with biosimilar developer Coherus seeking to launch its ranibizumab biosimilar in 2021 and Samsung Bioepis having reached a commercialization agreement for 2 biosimilar anti-VEGFs of its own. Last week, a study published in JAMA Ophthalmology supported the use of anti-VEGF agents in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), saying that, though these drugs are costly, they may provide substantial economic value to both patients and society.
Novartis Confirms It Has Launched Biosimilar Pegfilgrastim, Ziextenzo, in the United States
November 15th 2019Novartis has confirmed in an email to The Center for Biosimilars® that it has launched Sandoz’s pegfilgrastim biosimilar, Ziextenzo, in the United States. According to Novartis, the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) for Ziextenzo is $3925, or an approximate 37% discount off the WAC for the reference product, Amgen’s Neulasta.
Studies Report on Switching, Tolerability, and Infection Risk With Biosimilar Infliximab
November 14th 2019As the only anti–tumor necrosis factor therapies currently available to US patients with inflammatory diseases, biosimilars of infliximab are increasingly used to treat diseases like rheumatoid arthritis. While there are a wealth of data on real-world use of these products in territories like the European Union, less research has examined their use in the United States. During the American College of Rheumatology’s 2019 meeting, held this week in Atlanta, Georgia, researchers reported on the results of 3 studies that assessed real-world use of biosimilar infliximab in the US context.
Newly Presented Data on SB4 Show Successful Switches, Safe Use, and No Evidence of Nocebo
November 13th 2019While US patients continue to wait for a biosimilar etanercept to become commercially available, real-world data continue to amass for Samsung Bioepis’ biosimilar, SB4, in European clinical practice. The biosimilar, sold as Benepali in the European context, was the subject of several studies presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology’s 2019 meeting, held in Atlanta, Georgia.
Infants Exposed to Tofacitinib In Utero Experience Very Few Serious Infections, Study Says
November 13th 2019The results will inform will inform counseling and management of pregnant women with inflammatory diseases who need tofacitinib or non-tumor necrosis factor inhibitors during pregnancy, said the author.
Rheumatologists' Biosimilar Awareness Is Growing, But Their Confidence Has Room to Improve
November 11th 2019Over the past few years, awareness of biosimilars has been increasing; however, research presented at the American College of Rheumatology’s 2019 meeting, being held in Atlanta, Georgia, shows that while US rheumatologists hold growing awareness of biosimilars, hesitancy remains around such issues as switching stable patients and the extrapolation of indications.
Applying Biosimilar Savings in Markets Around the World
November 8th 2019The great promise of biosimilars is their ability to provide high-quality treatment at a reduced cost, thereby producing cost savings that can be reapplied. But how are healthcare systems around the globe utilizing those cost savings? During the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research 2019 meeting, held this week in Copenhagen, Denmark, several teams of researchers reported on how biosimilars are impacting international markets, and how they could provide headroom for new, expensive treatments.
Amgen's Anticancer Biosimilars Could Provide Substantial Hospital Budget Savings to Italian System
November 4th 2019The International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research is holding its Europe 2019 meeting this week in Copenhagen, Denmark, and the savings that biosimilars can afford European healthcare systems are a hot topic at this year’s event. Two studies presented on Monday explored how Amgen’s biosimilar bevacizumab (Mvasi) and biosimilar trastuzumab (Kanjinti) could produce significant cost savings for hospitals in the Italian healthcare system.
Research Letter Suggests That Off-label Use May Be Boosting Eculizumab Sales
November 2nd 2019In a research letter appearing this week in JAMA Internal Medicine, authors from Oregon Health and Science University raised the question of whether the “large and increasing revenue from eculizumab” could be tied to off-label use for non-approved indications.
In ASCO Survey, a Majority of US Patients With Cancer Report Anxiety Related to Cost
October 30th 2019The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) today released its third annual National Cancer Opinion Survey, results of which highlight the added stress that the financial burden of treatment places on patients with cancer.
ACG Case Studies Report on AEs, and Their Resolution, With Biosimilar Infliximab
October 29th 2019This week, clinicians gathered in San Antonio, Texas, for the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)’s 2019 meeting, where a number of presentations focused on the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. During the congress, 2 studies presented addressed adverse events (AEs) associated with—one of which was resolved by—the use of biosimilar infliximab, CT-P13 (Inflectra).
Canadian Gastroenterology Groups Issue Joint Position That Takes Aim at Nonmedical Switching
October 25th 2019The Canadian Association of Gastroenterology and Crohn’s and Colitis Canada this week announced a joint statement on biosimilars in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The paper, which is slated to appear in the Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology, recommends that patients stable on biologic treatment should not be subject to nonmedical switching, and recommends against automatic substitution of biosimilars for their references.
Pooled Analysis Underscores Safety of Biosimilar Infliximab, CT-P13, in Patients With IBD
October 24th 2019During the United European Gastroenterology Week 2019, held October 29-23 in Barcelona, Spain, researchers from Celltrion presented pooled data from 3 postmarketing studies of CT-P13 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that underscore the safety of the biosimilar.
Cost May Drive Medicare Patients to Delay or Forego Treatment for Blood Cancer, Report Suggests
October 24th 2019A new research report from Milliman, commissioned by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS), found that fewer than half of patients with blood cancer received treatment within 3 months of diagnosis, and LLS says that costs may be keeping patients from getting care.