Rheumatology

The Center for Biosimilars® provided news and insight during June 2021 in the form of interviews with key opinion leaders and coverage of major events. Catch up on what you missed.

The BIOSIM Act would increase the add-on payment for use of a biosimilar, thereby incentivizing practitioners to use these products more often, according to proponents of the bill.

Authors of an opinion piece suggest that a "reliance" approach to biosimilar approval could lead to global standards for acceptance that cut down on wasted review time and obsolete clinical investigation.

A turning point for interchangeable biosimilars has arrived, as the first may be approved this year, but many questions about these agents have yet to be answered, according to Laura Sim, senior counsel for Amgen.

Cigna said it will push biosimilar forms of infliximab onto the preferred list and reward patients who make the switch.

Tahir Amin, Dip LP, co-executive director of I-MAK, discusses some hot-button issues regarding the US patent system, including AbbVie’s alleged abuse of it, and his hopes for improvement.

Ping Cao, vice president of Business Development for Shanghai Henlius Biotech, discussed the company's current biosimilar development plans and the process for getting regulatory approval for biosimilars in China.

Sophia Z. Humphreys, PharmD, MHA, explains how biosimilar utilization management can enable health care institutions to put COVID-19–related financial wreckage behind them.

Amneal Pharmaceuticals develops its biosimilar pipeline with mAbxience, Xcenda estimates biosimilar effect on originator pricing, and Magellan Rx Management touts oncology biosimilars savings.

Getting to the stage where clinical data on interchangeability are reportable to the FDA is a key milestone in Alvotech’s bid to get its high-concentration adalimumab biosimilar approved and on the market.

The “winner-takes-all” tender process for biosimilar procurement in the European Union runs the risk of driving competitors out of the market, authors of a new survey contend.

Product differentiation, global partners, and a large suite of biosimilars in development are ways that Reykjavik, Iceland-based Alvotech expects to stay ahead of the competition.

Postmarketing retrospective studies of the rituximab biosimilar (CT-P10, Truxima) demonstrated comparable safety and efficacy for treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

In this column, officials from the Biosimilars Forum and Xcenda discuss how biosimilar competition has lowered prices of originator biologics and improved patient access.

In part 2 of this panel discussion, 3 experts on India’s biologics industry discuss whether biosimilars can be produced affordably in the country and ways of improving the industry’s image.

The European Union makes it far more difficult to obtain patents on biologics, reducing the likelihood of patent “thickets” that stifle competition, the Matrix Global Advisors report states.

In part 1 of this panel discussion, 3 experts on India’s biologics industry explain what’s missing from current biosimilar regulation and what the country needs to do for its products to compete internationally.

Bio-Thera has set up a psoriatic arthritis clinical trial for BAT2506, which references Simponi.

Reverse switching occurs when patients transitioned to or initiated on a biosimilar are changed to an originator product, often because of a perceived failure in the biosimilar therapy.

Sarfaraz K. Niazi, PhD, a member of The Center for Biosimilars® Advisory Board, reports on his citizen petition to the FDA to rationalize testing of biosimilars.

Investigators in the Netherlands observed that 13.7% of patients with rheumatic disease had switched back to etanercept originator at 4.4 years from baseline.

Organon will do marketing but not research and development, Biogen and Bio-Thera move forward with tocilizumab candidate, and Lupin promotes a pegfilgrastim biosimilar.

Immunogenicity was rare but concerning for patients who switched from originator rituximab to the biosimilar Riximyo, investigators reported.

Real-world clinical data compiled for patients with autoimmune disorders were presented at EULAR 2021.

Celltrion announces the launch timing for its much anticipated high-concentration formulation of adalimumab and presents trial data supporting equivalence to the reference product.

Biosimilar manufacturers may encounter roadblocks in the months and years ahead, and generics manufacturers will find they've hit a ceiling, according to Adam Fein, PhD, CEO of the Drug Channels Institute.

In part 2 of this interview, Cate Lockhart, PharmD, PhD, executive director of the Biologics and Biosimilar Collective Intelligence Consortium, discusses the potential for interchangeable insulin biosimilars and the challenges of obtaining reliable and optimized real world data.

BioFactura has specialized in biodefense agents for smallpox and Marburg virus, but sees revenue potential in biosimilars.

More transparency in how health care money is spent could improve utilization and efficiency, panelists said at the Medicines for Europe event.

In part 1 of this interview, Cate Lockhart, executive director of the Biologics and Biosimilar Collective Intelligence Consortium, details some of her expectations for further growth of the US biosimilar market.