LONDON—The availability of a biosimilar form of infliximab has dramatically increased the number of Norwegians taking one form or another of the drug, an expert on biosimilars said in a debate-style session at the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR 2016). The expanded uptake of Remicade (infliximab) and its biosimilar, Remsima (international…
The use of biosimilars for rheumatology in the U.S. became a reality when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb), a biosimilar to Remicade (infliximab), in April. What this may mean is increased competition among drug companies with regard to pricing and, therefore, potentially lower costs for U.S. patients, according to Seoyoung…
Executing evidence-based medicine in the U.S. is challenging, especially utilizing high-cost medications in rheumatologic care. As patients trust their clinicians to be their medical experts, clinicians must trust their care team members to be experts at implementing the care plan. A clinician’s knowledge of human anatomy and physiology is the foundation to understanding pathophysiology. From…
Although it may not be available until 2017, the FDA approved the use of etanercept-szzs for multiple autoimmune diseases…
(Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Novartis AG’s biosimilar version of Amgen Inc.’s arthritis drug etanercept (Enbrel). The FDA approved the drug, Erelzi, known also as etanercept-szzs, for multiple inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and plaque psoriasis, a skin condition. The agency approved the drug as a biosimilar, meaning there is no…
A majority of state legislatures have concluded their work for 2016. The ACR’s state advocacy efforts continued to focus on policy benefiting rheumatologists and patients alike. The two dominant issues this year were biosimilar substitution and step therapy. Biosimilar Substitution Biosimilar substitution remains the most prevalent issue throughout the states. The ACR continues to monitor…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Biosimilar tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors appear equivalent to the branded original versions, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. As Dr. G. Caleb Alexander tells Reuters Health by email, “biologic treatments represent a rapidly growing proportion of prescription drug expenditures and thus there is enormous interest in whether or not biosimilar products…
In July, the FDA’s Arthritis Advisory Committee will meet and review proposed biosimilars for etanercept and adalimumab to treat multiple rheumatic diseases…
(Reuters)—Novartis AG’s cheaper version of Amgen Inc.’s arthritis drug etanercept (Enbrel) is highly similar in potency and safety to the original and should be approved, an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded on Wednesday. The panel voted 20–0 that there is no clinically meaningful difference between Novartis’s drug, a biologic made…
In a recent study, 100% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on infliximab experienced a cross-reaction when switched to its biosimilar (CT-P13, infliximab-dyyb). Plus in a recent study, a treat-to-target strategy proved effective for treating RA with biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs…