Practice

Janssen-Cilag International’s biologic drug guselkumab (Tremfya) has received approval from the European Commission (EC) for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy.

Trastuzumab has been used to manage both early and metastatic HER2-postive breast cancer and has significantly improved the survival of these patients and become the standard of care, according to Arlene Chan, MB BS, FRACP, MMed, writing in Chinese Clinical Oncology.

A recent case report, published in the European Journal of Rheumatology, showed that switching to biosimilar infliximab resulted in a rapid loss of efficacy in 3 patients with Behçet’s disease (BD), a chronic, relapsing, systemic vasculitis.

In an effort to better address the needs of patients taking reference etanercept (Enbrel), Amgen has launched an ergonomically designed cartridge with a reusable auto-injector in the United States as an additional administration option.

The Center for Biosimilars® recaps the top 5 stories in biosimilars news for the week of November 13.

Australian researchers Kellie A. Mouchemore, PhD, and colleagues urge caution in the use of granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) in neutrophil recovery following chemotherapy for breast cancer because there is increasing evidence that G-CSF can promote metastasis.

At a Wednesday session of the SMi Biosimilars North America conference, Chrys Kokino, MBA, head of Mylan’s global biologics commercial division, said that biosimilars can be part of improving access to and affordability of biologic therapies for patients worldwide, but also highlighted the hurdles that biosimilar developers will have to overcome as they seek to gain a foothold in the US marketplace.

Theradiag, a French company that specializes in in vitro diagnostics and theranostics, has entered into a partnership agreement with Biogen to provide its Lisa Tracker kits to monitor patients treated with Biogen’s infliximab biosimilar Flixabi, which was approved in Europe in 2016.

The ability to identify factors that predict efficacy of anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents is crucial if clinicians are to optimize treatment and minimize side effects and costs.

A recent survey of US rheumatologists found that there is room for improvement in clinicians' awareness of biosimilar therapies.

“If the patient doesn’t have better access, you don’t need a biosimilar," argues Roy Fleischmann, MD.

Today, 4 presentations at the 2017 American College of Rheumatology’s (ACR) Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, covered research on switching studies concerning etanercept and infliximab biosimilars.

In a presentation titled “Biosimilar Medicine: Changing Landscape in Health Care,” given on Monday at the 2017 American College of Rheumatology Annual Meeting in San Diego, California, J. Eugene Huffstutter MD, FACP, FACR, shared practical considerations for using biosimilars in the rheumatology clinic.

Two posters presented today at the American College of Rheumatology’s 2017 meeting in San Diego, California, highlight the gaps in US rheumatologists’ knowledge concerning biosimilar therapies, and underscore the importance of greater physician education about biosimilar medicines.

In the evolving world of biologic therapies, a class of follow-on biologics—so-called "biobetters"—is emerging as a new category of products.

The Center for Biosimilars® recaps the top 5 stories in biosimilars news for the week of October 30.

More than 90% of Americans believe that the cost burden of cancer is too high, according to a large, nationally representative survey conducted for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

New data show that switching patients with Crohn’s disease to CT-P13 from the reference infliximab led to comparable efficacy, safety, and tolerability between the 2 treatments over a 24-week period. The full 54-week results of the phase 3 study support the long-term effectiveness of treatment with CT-P13, the researchers say.