Teva Neupogen biosimilar hits regulatory snag

FDA issued Teva Pharmaceuticals a "complete response" on the BLA for Neutroval, its biosimilar formulation of Amgen's granulocyte colony-stimulating factor Neupogen for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. Teva announced Sept. 30 that the agency had asked for "several items" but not for additional pre-market clinical trials, demonstrating that as pharmas explore regulatory pathways for biosimilars, going the full BLA route to approval will not guarantee a smooth review (1"Biosimilar Road Bump: Teva Filgrastim's Complete Response Shows Even Full BLAs Can Stumble," "The Pink Sheet" DAILY, Oct. 1, 2010). The action letter was not entirely unexpected, given that both Teva and FDA are finding their way in the U.S. biosimilar space. FDA has scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 2-3 to gather input on implementing the legislation that enabled an approval pathway for generic biologics in this country. Meanwhile, Teva said it will work with the agency to find a pathway to approval, which could serve more than one objective. The Israeli biopharma is also working on a biosimilar of Amgen's Neupogen follow-on Neulasta (pegfilgrastim). Neutroval is already marketed in Europe as TevaGrastim. The European approval, however, doesn't seem to have made a big dent in Amgen's market share for the veteran product. According to Robert W. Baird analyst Raymond Christopher, Amgen's ex-U.S. market share is only off about 4% due to biosimilars, and its U.S. share "could prove similarly resilient," particularly because Amgen "fully intends to defend this franchise" through patent litigation

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Pink Sheet for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required

More from Archive

Ocaliva: Still No Clarity On Why EU Court Opposed Revocation Of Approval

 

Advanz Pharma would have had to show that the European Commission’s decision to revoke Ocaliva’s conditional marketing approval risked causing serious and irreparable harm, according to lawyers from Van Bael & Bellis.

Final Chance To Have Your Say: Take Our Reader Survey This Week

 
• By 

This is your final call to participate in the survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. The deadline is 20 September.

Shape Our Content: Take The Reader Survey

 
• By 

We are conducting a survey to better understand our subscribers’ content and delivery needs. If there are any changes you’d like to see in coverage topics, article format, or the method in which you access the Pink Sheet – or if you love it how it is – now is the time to have your voice heard.

Brazil Pilots Digital Drug Pack Inserts

 

A new pilot aims to take Brazil closer to ‘digital transformation.’

More from Pink Sheet

EMA Touts Faster Global Post-Approval Changes Via Regulatory Reliance

 

The European Medicines Agency says that a regulatory reliance pilot that it is supporting to speed up assessments of post-approval changes appears to be accelerating evaluation timelines in non-EU countries.

UK And US Regulators In Sync On RWD External Control Arms

 
• By 

The UK regulator’s draft guideline on the use of external control arms based on real-world data reflects concepts similar to those outlined by the US Food and Drug Administration.

New EU Approvals

 

The Pink Sheet's list of EU centralized approvals of new active substances has been updated to include two new products, one of which is Vyjuvek, Krystal Biotech's advanced therapy for treating dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa.