FDA Approves Adalimumab Biosimilar From Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin Biologics
July 8th 2020The FDA has approved Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin Biologics's Hulio adalimumab biosimilar, making it the sixth adalimumab biosimilar approved in the United States. However, none will be launched before 2023 because of the strength of AbbVie's exclusivity rights for Humira, the reference product. Hulio launched in Europe in 2018.
Biocon Seeks to Take Biosimilars Unit Public by 2023
July 8th 2020Biocon is planning to list its biosimilar entity, Biocon Biologics, on the capital markets in the next few years. Although this move will allow the entity to expand on current projects, it also raises questions about whether it will be successful.
Use of Infliximab Biosimilar in Medicare Population Is Low but Growing
July 7th 2020Slow growth of use of biosimilar infliximab in a Medicare fee-for-service population suggests lingering hesitancy on the part of gastroenterologists and patients, particularly when it comes to extrapolation to off-label uses, according to a new study.
US Rheumatologists Are Comfortable With Biosimilars, but Still Hesitant to Prescribe
July 4th 2020Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions has produced a Rheumatology Insights report that includes results from a survey of over 100 US-based rheumatologists on their perceptions and experiences with biosimilars in rheumatology thus far.
Study Suggests Majority of Rituximab Use Is Off Label
July 2nd 2020Rituximab was originally approved in the United States in 1997 for treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and has multiple additional approvals for orphan and nonorphan indications. But a recent study found off-label uses now account for more than half of patients receiving rituximab.
ACR Supports Continued Use of Telemedicine and Reimbursement Parity After COVID-19 Crisis
July 1st 2020The widespread adoption of telemedicine during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as reimbursement parity that was enacted by CMS, should be continued once the public health emergency passes, according to a new position statement by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).
Rheumatologists Still Leery of Biosimilar Use, Study Says
June 30th 2020In surveys conducted in February and March 2020, rheumatologists cited low adoption rates of biosimilars by payers and unfavorable discounts as major reasons why they feel uncomfortable switching prescribing patterns from reference products to biosimilars.
BPCIA in Crosshairs as Opponents File Arguments With High Court to End Health Law
June 26th 2020Republican opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), led by the state of Texas, fired opening salvos in the Supreme Court case over the landmark law's constitutionality. If the entire law is thrown out, approval for biosimilars under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) would disappear, too.