News

Stacie B. Dusetzina, PhD, is the Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and a member of the editorial board for The American Journal of Managed Care®.

The main takeaway from the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on HHS's 2023 budget was that biosimilars were not mentioned as much as they should have been, said Julie M. Reed of the Biosimilars Forum.

The United States is about to enter round 2 of biosimilar activity with a pipeline that expands biosimilars into new therapeutic areas, said Sonia Oskouei, PharmD, BCMAS, DPLA, vice president of biosimilars, Cardinal Health, during her presentation at Asembia’s Specialty Pharmacy Summit.

Despite improvements in biosimilar education efforts for future health care professionals, payer policies need a major revamp to ensure that biosimilar use is encouraged, according to Pfizer's Mike Gladstone.

Eric Tichy, PharmD, MBA, vice chair of pharmacy formulary at the Mayo Clinic Health System, discusses the importance of state legislation to boost biosimilar access and uptake.

New information on oncology biosimilars have sprouted during the month of April, including an FDA approval, study results from conferences, and data on pegfilgrastim biosimilar utilization and spending.

Here are the top 5 biosimilar articles for the week of April 25, 2022.

Now that the United States’ acceptance of biosimilars matches that in the European Union, developers should be encouraging changes to testing regulations to increase biosimilar accessibility, according to Sarfaraz K. Niazi, PhD, in his recent perspective paper.

Jeffrey Casberg, vice president of pharmacy at IPD Analytics, discusses the Alvotech/AbbVie settlement for an adalimumab biosimilar and whether it will impact future patent lawsuits.

Although Roche’s earnings report for the first quarter of 2022 showed overall increases, products like Herceptin, Avastin, and Rituxan continue to lose revenue due to biosimilar competition.

Biosimilars provide significant savings and encourages competition in the biopharmaceutical marketplace but the United States needs to do more to empower uptake and address adoption barriers, according to Robert Popovian PharmD, MS.

Posters from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP)’s annual meeting highlighted the clinical similarity of a trastuzumab biosimilar compared with its reference product and real-world longitudinal application of infliximab biosimilars.

Here are the top 5 biosimilar articles for the week of April 18, 2022.

Patients and other stakeholders received some biosimilar news, with a small recall for Mylan’s unbranded insulin glargine biosimilar and the completed full acquisition of Samsung Bioepis into Samsung Biologics.

Medicare Part D plans missed out on between $84 million and $143 million in savings by not prioritizing the use of biosimilars over reference products, according to a report from the HHS Office of Inspector General.

A phase 3 study conducted by Amgen found that the company’s ustekinumab biosimilar was as safe and efficacious as the reference product (Stelara) in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

An analysis of real-world dosing and effectiveness of pegfilgrastim biosimilars found the clinical benefits of preventing febrile neutropenia in patients with intermediate to high risk come at acceptable financial costs compared with filgrastim biosimilars.

A sub-study assessing the affects of using a prefilled pen vs a prefilled syringe found that the pen was easy for patients to use and was favored by over 90% of patients.

Here are the top 5 biosimilar articles for the week of April 11, 2022.

Access to new treatment options for ophthalmic conditions and diabetes is on the rise with the launch of Sandoz’ generic ocular hypertension medication, a new deal to bring a ranibizumab biosimilar to the Middle East, and the initiation of a trial for an insulin glargine biosimilar.

Amneal said the product, to be sold under the name Alymsys, is the second of 3 US biosimilars the company expects to see approved this year.

If approved, Celltrion's CT-P16 would be the fourth bevacizumab biosimilar to reach the market.

Jeffrey Casberg, vice president of pharmacy at IPD Analytics, weighs in on the factors he thinks will most affect market share among adalimumab biosimilars when they enter the US market in 2023.

Republic of Korea-based Celltrion Healthcare launched its high-concentration adalimumab biosimilar in Canada and won several Brazilian tenders to supply its infliximab biosimilar.

Switzerland-based company Fresenius Kabi announced that its pegfilgrastim biosimilar received marketing authorization in Europe and that it has obtained a majority stake in biosimilar manufacturer mAbxience and acquired its subsidiary.

Here are the top 5 biosimilar articles for the week of April 4, 2022.

A real-world analysis found similar safety and efficacy profiles between a biosimilar ranibizumab (Razumab) and the reference product (Lucentis, Accentrix) in Indian patients with diabetic macular edema.

Formycon has signed a deal with ATHOS to merge development activities for 2 biosimilars that will reference Lucentis (ranibizumab) and Stelara (ustekinumab) as part of a long-term partnership.

Edward Arrowsmith, MD, discussed his recent paper on the use of clinical pathways for specific cancer types and how biosimilar development can help ensure quality of care for patients with limited therapeutic options.

With white bagging, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) require certain high-cost drugs to be shipped from their own specialty pharmacies to practices, where clinicians then administer the drugs to patients.