US Must Rethink Biologic Naming Suffix, Says IGBA

In the wake of a decision by Health Canada not to implement a suffix to non-proprietary names to distinguish biosimilars from their branded counterparts, the IGBA has urged the FDA to reconsider the US approach.

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An increasingly isolated US is being urged to rethink its biologic naming approach • Source: Shutterstock

Citing a “growing global consensus” against the addition of product-specific suffixes to non-proprietary names to distinguish biosimilar medicines from their branded biologic counterparts, the International Generic and Biosimilar medicines Association has called on the US Food and Drug Administration to rethink its use of such a system, which it says makes the FDA a “notable outlier.”

The call follows Health Canada’s recent decision not to add suffixes to non-proprietary names for biologics, including biosimilars, which leaves the US as the only major territory to operate such...

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