Sandoz wins European approval of EPO biosimilar

The Novartis subsidiary's epoetin alfa follow-on Binocrit, which received European marketing approval Aug. 31, will be priced at a 25 to 30 percent discount to innovator products, Sandoz exec Ajaz Hussain tells "The Pink Sheet." The first launch will be in Germany in September. Sandoz is maintaining its lead in biosimilars; Binocrit is the first approval for biosimilar EPO, although positive opinions have been issued for products from Hexal Biotech Forschungs (another Novartis business unit) and Medice Arzneimittel Putter. Sandoz was first to market with a biosimilar human growth hormone, Omnitrope (1"The Pink Sheet" June 5, 2006, p. 3)...