Celltrion launches biosimilar of AbbVie's blockbuster drug Humira in US

[July 06, 2023]  (Reuters) - South Korea's Celltrion Healthcare has launched a copycat version to AbbVie Inc's Humira at about a 5% discount, adding to the growing competition for the blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug in the U.S.

The biosimilar, Yuflyma, became available for sale in the U.S. on Sunday, the company said a day later.

Yuflyma is listed at $6,576.50 per month compared to the current list price of Humira at $6,922 per carton and is available in two device types — auto-injector and pre-filled syringe options.

Celltrion said it was seeking an interchangeability designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Yuflyma. The decision is likely in the fourth quarter of 2024.

An interchangeable biosimilar product may be substituted without the intervention of the health care professional who prescribed the reference product.

Celltrion joins drugmakers such as Boehringer Ingelheim, Sandoz, Organon, Germany's Fresenius and Coherus BioSciences, which also launched biosimilars this week.

Flags bearing the South Korean national flag and Celltrion's flag flutter in the wind at the company's headquarters in Incheon, South Korea, October 28, 2016. Picture taken on October 28, 2016. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

While pills have extremely cheap generic versions, complex, expensive biologics made from living cells cannot be exactly duplicated. Their closest alternatives are called biosimilars.

AbbVie has forecast a 37% drop in Humira sales in 2023 due to competition. Until recently, it was the world's biggest-selling non-COVID prescription drug, hitting a record $21.2 billion in sales for 2022.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Arun Koyyur)

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