Novartis launches first
U.S. 'biosimilar' drug at 15 percent discount
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[September 03, 2015] By
Ben Hirschler and Michael Shields
LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis kicked
off a new era in U.S. medicine on Thursday with the launch of the first
"biosimilar" copy of a biotechnology drug approved in the United States,
at a discount of 15 percent to the original.
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The Swiss drugmaker's generics unit Sandoz said Zarxio, its form of
Amgen's white blood cell-boosting product Neupogen, would increase
access to an important treatment by offering a "high-quality, more
affordable version".
U.S. biotech group Amgen had tried to stop the sale of Zarxio, also
known as filgrastim-sndz, but the Washington-based appeals court
rejected its attempt to block the launch.
The potential for copycats to take business from original biotech
drug brands is increasingly grabbing investors' attention, although
uncertainties remain as to how quickly so-called biosimilars will
win business.
Biosimilars have been on the market in Europe since 2006. However,
the U.S. regulatory pathway for biosimilars, which are made in
living cells and can never be exact replicas of originals, was only
established by a healthcare reform in 2010.
The arrival of biosimilars threatens companies heavily reliant on
biotech drugs, such as Amgen, AbbVie and Roche, and Citigroup
analysts have predicted a transfer of at least $110 billion of value
from innovator companies to copycat producers in the next decade.
Novartis said the U.S. wholesale list price for a 300 microgram
syringe of Zarxio was $275.66, with the 480 mcg version costing
$438.98.
That represents a discount of 15 percent to Amgen's list price and
is the same price gap set when Zarxio was launched in Europe in
2009. The discount in Europe has since widened to an average of
around 20 to 30 percent.
Insurers hope biosimilars will eventually cost the public 40 percent
to 50 percent less than the original brands.
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Neupogen is a $1.2 billion-a-year medicine for Amgen that boosts
white blood cell counts to fight infections in cancer patients. The
majority of its sales are generated in the United States.
An even bigger prize lies in the development of copies of
multibillion-dollar antibody drugs for the treatment of diseases
like cancer and rheumatoid arthritis, where Sandoz and rivals are
also working to bring products to market.
Express Scripts, the largest manager of drug benefit plans for U.S.
employers and insurers, has estimated the United States could save
$250 billion between 2014 and 2024 if 11 of the likeliest
biosimilars reach the market.
(Editing by Anand Basu and David Holmes)
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