In lieu of pending guidance, the U.S. FDA’s approval May 20 of Biocon Biologics Ltd.’s Yesafili and Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd.’s Opuviz as interchangeable biosimilars to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Eylea (aflibercept) provides further insight into how the agency is approaching the market exclusivity the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act awards to the first approved interchangeable for any given biologic.
Abbvie Inc.’s blockbuster drug Humira is getting a 10th challenger that could give all the other adalimumab biosimilars a run for their money – depending on pricing and formulary coverage, of course. After delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and manufacturing issues, the U.S. FDA approved Simlandi, previously known as AVT-02, as a Humira biosimilar and interchangeable Feb. 23.
Instead of the two-step process that’s been the typical path for interchangeables in the U.S., Amgen Inc.’s Wezlana got a green light Oct. 31 from the FDA as both the first approved biosimilar and interchangeable to Johnson & Johnson’s inflammatory disease drug, Stelara (ustekinumab).
Nearly 13 years after Congress created a biosimilars path to bring competition to the U.S. biologics market, new rules of the road are coming into play, via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), that could change the course for biosimilars in the long haul – if the IRA’s prescription drug price negotiation mandate withstands numerous constitutional challenges.
With the biggest biosimilar launch in the U.S. just days away, Humira’s (adalimumab) record-breaking ride is quickly slowing down, but the Abbvie Inc. mega-blockbuster immunology drug is nowhere near the end of its road. Meanwhile, the U.S. journey is just beginning for the eight adalimumab biosimilars that could come to market as early as July 1 through licensing agreements with Abbvie. Besides revving their engines against Humira, the new launches will be looking to overtake Amgen Inc.’s biosimilar, Amjevita, which got a five-month headstart in the U.S., thanks to the first-mover status Amgen earned for being the first to sign a licensing agreement with Abbvie.
A slew of biosimilar versions of TNF-alpha inhibitor adalimumab will finally arrive on the U.S. market in 2023, almost seven years after the first such molecule, Amgen Inc.’s Amjevita (adalimumab-atto) gained U.S. FDA approval. Amgen commercially launched its product on Jan. 31. Seven more are lined up for launch over the summer, while two more are undergoing regulatory review. Their long-anticipated arrival will mark the beginning of the end for one of the most lucrative franchises in the history of the pharmaceutical industry. It represents, according to Cardinal Health Inc.’s newly published 2023 Biosimilars Report, “the largest loss of exclusivity event, perhaps ever in the U.S.”
If the Feb. 16 hearing before the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee is anything to go by, it’s almost a given that the bipartisan Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Transparency Act will eventually be passed by the Senate. But its journey through the Republican-controlled House could be more uncertain in light of growing concerns about an “activist agenda” at the FTC.
A lot of biosimilar sponsors and wannabes will be watching as the Humira biosimilar competition unfolds in the U.S. While the competition started Jan. 31 with the launch of Amgen Inc.’s Amjevita, the true test of the strength of the competition will come in five months when other adalimumab biosimilars, including Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH’s interchangeable, hit the market.
With at least six others behind it, Amgen Inc.’s Amjevita is leading a 2023 U.S. biosimilars charge to challenge the all-time biggest-selling drug, Humira (adalimumab), from Abbvie Inc. Amjevita hit the U.S. market Jan. 31, and Amgen has the biosimilar priced at two levels, both lower than Humira’s. One is a list price 55% below Humira’s list price of about $115,000 annually and the second is 5% below Humira’s list price. Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Sandoz Inc., Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd./Organon & Co., Pfizer Inc., Viatris Inc. and Coherus Biosciences Inc. all have biosimilar challengers to Humira that are set to launch in July 2023, all likely to come with a lower price tag than Humira’s.
Even though the EU had approved more than a dozen biosimilars by 2012, the follow-on biologics were still in their embryonic stage around the world when BioWorld published The Biosimilars Game: A Scorecard for Opportunities, Threats and Critical Strategies in early 2013. Now, nearly a decade later, the global biosimilar landscape has matured with many more biosimilars approved across the globe, but the uptake, and thus the savings, is not what some policy makers and people in industry had hoped for or expected.
