Regulatory

The FDA has signed a new confidentiality agreement with the European Commission (EC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The agreement will allow the FDA to share with the EC and EMA nonpublic, commercially confidential information (including trade secrets) related to inspections.

The United Kingdom (UK) has issued a position paper on ensuring a smooth economic transition from the European Union (EU) in relationship to the availability of goods, including pharmaceuticals.

A recent paper, published in BioDrugs, argues that, in biosimilar development, bridging studies between locally licensed and internationally licensed reference biologics may be unnecessary.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 stories in biosimilars news for the week of August 14, 2017.

Yesterday, Biocon withdrew from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) its applications for the authorization of biosimilar trastuzumab and pegfilgrastim.

The European Medicines Agency announced this month that it has initiated a business continuity plan to cope with the political uncertainty and the workload implications of the United Kingdom’s impending withdrawal from the European Union.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 stories in biosimilars news for the week of August 7, 2017.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit today dismissed Amgen’s appeal of a previous district court ruling that denied its motion to compel discovery from Hospira in a Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) litigation.

FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, MD, has created a new FDA working group of senior agency staff who will investigate ways to increase generic drug competition.

The US Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the case of Sandoz v Amgen led to industry speculation that biosimilar applicants could lack incentive to participate in the information exchange process with reference product sponsors, or the so-called “patent dance,” provided for under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA).

The FDA’s Office of Surveillance has released its findings from an inspection of Biocon’s troubled manufacturing facility in Bangalore, India. ​​The agency listed 10 observations made during the agency’s inspection conducted during May and June of 2017.

The FDA’s biosimilar pathway has encouraged a robust product pipeline, but the fact that few biosimilar drugs have been approved by the agency thus far means that there is still some industry uncertainty on the FDA’s approach to this class of products.

The development of biosimilars is focused on the minimization of potential differences between the proposed biosimilar and reference product, as well as the establishment of a robust manufacturing process to consistently produce a high-quality biosimilar.

The FDA’s Arthritis Advisory Committee (AAC) did not recommend the approval of Janssen Biotech’s sirukumab, a proposed monoclonal antibody for the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, over concerns about mortality.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 stories in biosimilars news for the week of July 31, 2017.

The Senate today passed the FDA Reauthorization Act of 2017 (FDARA) in a roll call vote.

Amgen and Allergan announced today that the companies have submitted a Biologics License Application for ABP 980, a proposed trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilar.

Celltrion and Teva announced today that the FDA has accepted for review the companies’ Biologics License Application (BLA) for CT-P6, a proposed trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilar.

The Senate may not consider the FDA Reauthorization Act (FDARA) until early September, after the congressional recess. The delay comes after Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) returned to the capitol to vote in favor of advancing a debate over healthcare reform.

July was a busy month for biosimilars targeting rheumatology indications; this month saw a product launch, developments in the legal realm, new clinical data, and prospective changes to Medicare reimbursement.

The emergence of biosimilar insulins may help broaden access to modern insulins, increase individualized treatment options, and reduce the cost of insulin therapy. Yet many healthcare providers may not understand the concept of biosimilarity and how biosimilar medications are similar, not identical, to their reference products.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 stories in biosimilars news for the week of July 24, 2017.

FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, MD, testified before the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon in a hearing titled “Antitrust Concerns and the FDA Approval Process.”

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that it has enrolled its first patient in a study to demonstrate interchangeability of its biosimilar adalimumab candidate, BI 695501, with the reference adalimumab (Humira).

While all eyes have been on the Senate, the House has been quietly preparing to address another key issue affecting healthcare.

The Food and Drug Reauthorization Act of 2017, recently passed by the House, reauthorizes the Biosimilar User Fee Act (BsUFA). Learn about changes to the BsUFA in its new iteration, BsUFA II.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has issued an official position statement addressing the affordability of cancer drugs. The position was guided, the organization says, by several key principles.

The Center for Biosimilars recaps the top 5 stories in biosimilars news for the week of July 17, 2017.

The FDA has granted Merck’s insulin glargine (Lusduna Nexvue) tentative approval. Merck says that its follow-on basal insulin has met all required regulatory standards of clinical and nonclinical safety, efficacy, and quality for follow-on biologics.

The cost of developing copy versions of complex drugs—biosimilars and follow-ons for biologics and copies of nonbiological complex drugs such as nanomedicines, including drug-carrying liposomes—can be decreased, according to a new white paper.