May 2nd 2024
Data from a Cencora study showed some misalignment in payer coverage of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) biosimilars, highlighting that while filgrastim biosimilars are often favored over the originator, reference pegfilgrastim still dominates over its biosimilars.
Biosimilars Face Challenges From Providers, Patients, and Policies
October 13th 2017In recent paper published in Rheumatology, authors Till Uhlig, MD, and Guro L. Goll, PhD explore some of the remaining barriers to the adoption of biosimilar therapies in Europe. Physician attitudes, patient concerns, and prescribing restrictions on biologic therapies are all identified in the paper as having a role curbing uptake of biosimilars.
European Study: Many Oncology Drugs May Not Extend or Improve Life
October 7th 2017A European study published this week finds that, at a minimum of 3.3 years after market entry, there was no conclusive evidence that many oncology drugs approved by the European Medicines Agency between 2009 and 2013 either extended or improved life in most oncology indications.
Outcomes-Guarantee Contracts May Help Align Drug Prices With Value
October 5th 2017Indication-based pricing is a method used to reimburse drug makers according to a drug’s indication-specific value when the drug has multiple indications. A number of healthcare payers have already implemented or are planning to implement IBP, including Express Scripts, the largest US pharmacy benefit manager.
Eye on Pharma: Genentech Granted Priority Review for Pertuzumab Plus Trastuzumab
October 2nd 2017If Roche is successful in securing FDA approval, use of pertuzumab together with trastuzumab (also developed by Genentech's parent company, Roche) could help the drug maker hold on to some of its oncology market dominance in the face of growing competition from anticancer biosimilars.
New Report Addresses Medicine Shortages in the European Market
October 2nd 2017Medicines for Europe says that the sustainability of healthcare budgets in European nations has been “intensely pressured” in recent years by factors including an aging population and the introduction of high-cost drugs, and that governments aiming to address those challenges have resorted to austerity measures that have “driven the prices of some off-patent medicines to unsustainably low levels."
Biosimilar as Effective as Originator G-CSFs in Mobilizing Hematopoietic Stem Cells
September 29th 2017The standard way to conduct mobilization in hematopoietic stem cell donors relies on using 2 original granulocyte-colony stimulating factors (G-CSFs), filgrastim (Neupogen) and lenograstim (Granocyte).
Biosimilar Oncology Roundup: September
September 29th 2017September was a busy month for oncology biosimilars: the first anticancer biosimilar was approved in the US, new data showed promising momentum for additional therapies, and patent litigation yielded costly results for one biosimilar developer.
Healthcare Reform Efforts Turn to Drug Pricing
September 27th 2017Republican efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act may have stalled once again with the failure of the Graham-Cassidy bill on Thursday, but advocacy groups intend to keep healthcare—and the high cost of prescription drugs—at the forefront of Congress’ agenda.
CT-P10 Shows Comparable Efficacy to Rituxan in Network Meta-Analysis
September 25th 2017The rituximab biosimilar CT-P10 (Celltrion and Teva’s Truxima), which is approved in the European Union and under review by the FDA in the United States, showed comparable effectiveness to reference rituximab (Genentech and Biogen’s innovator product, sold as Mabthera and Rituxan) in a network meta-analysis.
Adello Biologics Submits BLA for Filgrastim Biosimilar
September 14th 2017Adello Biologics, a New Jersey-based biosimilar developer previously named Therapeutic Proteins International, announced this week that its Biologics License Application (BLA) for a biosimilar filgrastim candidate has been accepted for review by the FDA.
Biosimilars Can Generate Savings, Expand Access
September 14th 2017According to a new study, potential savings realized from transitioning to treatment with biosimilar filgrastim-sndz from reference filgrastim are not only significant, but these savings can also be applied to expand access to novel immunotherapies or supportive care.
A European Perspective on Biosimilars
September 13th 2017At the 2017 AAM Biosimilars Council Conference, Adrian van den Hoven, director general of Medicines for Europe, contradicted the conventional thinking about biosimilars, saying that biosimilars do not simply reduce costs of treatment. Instead, he said, they deliver “huge additional health benefits to patients.”
Advocates Emphasize Need for Patient Cost Savings From Biosimilars
September 13th 2017On Tuesday, leaders of patient advocacy groups presenting at the 2017 AAM Biosimilars Council Conference had a clear message for industry: biosimilar uptake will only happen in earnest when patients begin to see savings on their out-of-pocket treatment costs.
AAM Executive: 1.2 Million Will Gain Treatment Access Because of Biosimilars
September 12th 2017Christine Simmon, senior vice president of policy and strategic alliances for the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) and executive director of The Biosimilars Council, told The Center for Biosimilars® at the 2017 AAM Biosimilars Council Conference that upcoming product approvals in the biosimilar space are exciting prospects not only for the industry, but, most importantly, for patients.
Research Highlights Filgrastim and Pegfilgrastim Biosimilars
September 11th 2017Three posters presented on September 10, 2017, at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 meeting in Madrid, Spain, covered research on 2 proposed pegfilgrastim biosimilars and evaluated the use of filgrastim in oncology practice.