The FDA has approved new labeling for infused golimumab to include measures of mental and physical health. Plus romosozumab meets primary endpoints in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis during a Phase 3 trial…
Guselkumab Studied to Treat RA & Plaque Psoriasis Guselkumab (GUS) is a subcutaneously administered monoclonal antibody that targets interleukin (IL) 23.1 It is being investigated in a Phase 2 study to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (PsA). On June 11, 2015, at the 2015 meeting of the European League Against…
Comparing tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil and cyclophosphamide, tacrolimus was the most efficacious. Also, biosimilars may soon be easier to differentiate…
LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters)—Novartis kicked off a new era in U.S. medicine on Thursday with the launch of the first biosimilar copy of a biotechnology drug approved in the U.S., at a discount of 15% to the original. The Swiss drugmaker’s generics unit Sandoz said Zarxio, its form of Amgen’s white blood cell-boosting product Neupogen (filgrastim), would…
The FDA has fast-tracked the development of a drug to treat systemic sclerosis, or scleroderma; initial clinical trials started in June. Also, a major hospital group in France has selected the biosimilar infliximab to treat its patients with RA, Crohn’s disease and psoriasis…
WASHINGTON (Reuters)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed on Thursday identifying cheaper versions of biologic drugs with a suffix to distinguish them from their more expensive, branded counterparts. The FDA said its draft guidance is designed to prevent the inadvertent substitution of non-interchangeable products and to make it easier to monitor and track usage once…
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—Adolescents with moderate to severe psoriasis may respond to the human monoclonal antibody ustekinumab as well as adults, with no unexpected side effects, a new study found. The findings are exciting in part because patients in this age group have limited treatment options, the study’s lead author Dr. Ian Landells, of Memorial…
The FDA has issued a new boxed warning for Droxia (hydroxyurea). Also, according to a new study, RA patients receiving rituximab should be monitored for late-onset neutropenia…
Two Phase 3 trials have shown that epratuzumab did not meet its primary endpoints for treating SLE. Meanwhile, a Phase 3 study has shown adalimumab is effective for treating enthesitis-related arthritis in juveniles…
Etanercept Biosimilars A number of Phase 3 trials are ongoing for etanercept biosimilars.1 One evaluation identified three trials in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and one in psoriasis patients. The psoriatic arthritis trial evaluated PASI as a primary endpoint and the following secondary endpoints: PASI50, PASI75, PASI90, PASI score, laboratory values, ECG, adverse events (AEs), injection…