U.K. Competition Watchdog Accuses Merck of Obstructing Biosimilars

It argues that the discounts in question meant infliximab was competitively priced and offered savings to the U.K. National Health Service, without hindering competition.

Tuesday’s statement of objections from the CMA sets out its provisional views and does not mean there has in fact been any breach of competition law.

“The CMA will carefully consider any representations by the company under investigation before determining whether the law has been infringed,” it says in a statement.

The CMA has been increasingly active in pharmaceuticals.

In December last year, it fined Pfizer a record 84.2 million pounds ($109 million) for its role in ramping up the cost of an epilepsy drug. In February 2016, it fined GlaxoSmithKline 37.6 million pounds over deals delaying the launch of generic copies of its antidepressant Seroxat (paroxetine).

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…

The availability of biosimilars for the treatment of patients with rheumatic diseases exploded in 2023. Here’s where we stand and what to expect going forward.

As useful stand-ins for biologics targeting a range of inflammatory diseases, biosimilars have made significant inroads across Europe as less expensive alternatives. Denmark, for example, realized a cost savings of 64% after instituting a mandatory national switch from the originator infliximab to its biosimilar counterpart. In the U.S., however, a considerably smaller fraction of rheumatologists…

After years of speculation about potential cost savings and debates on safety, biosimilars are about to step onto the stage of rheumatic disease treatment. On Feb. 9, the Arthritis Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met in Washington, D.C., and recommended the approval of CT-P13, a proposed biosimilar to infliximab (Remicade),…

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