As it stands right now, biosimilars can't be used interchangeably with branded versions, meaning if you were to get a prescription for a branded biologic, you wouldn't be able to opt for the "generic" one at the pharmacy as easily as you could if the drug was, say, a statin. The FDA just approved a version of Avastin, a blockbuster chemotherapy made by Genentech that brought in $6.7 billion in sales in 2016. The newly approved drug, made by Amgen, will go by the marketed name Mvasi. It's a type of medication called a "biosimilar." Biosimilars are a bit more complicated than your average competing medicine: Unlike generics for chemical-based drugs like antibiotics that can be interchangeable
A new report conducted by health branding agency InterbrandHealth measures the value that brands alone provide pharmaceutical companies. Called Best Pharma Brands , the report is a ranking of the top 10 pharma brands, quantifying the corporate brand’s contribution to business performance in the biopharmaceutical industry According to the study, brand value is a single measure of the brand’s contribution to business results. Brand valuations were determined by a financial analysis of the brand in business results, the influence a brand has on customer willingness to recommend and measured brand performance relative to the competition. The study does not look at the strength of individual prod
A new US FDA guidance on how biological products licensed under the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) need to be named is playing havoc with a number of healthcare organizations. According to this naming convention, the nonproprietary name designated for “each originator biological product, related biological product, and biosimilar product will be a proper name that is a combination of the core name and a distinguishing suffix that is devoid of meaning and composed of four lowercase letters.” According to the healthcare organizations, this step will cost the health care system billions of dollars in technology costs. According to a healthcare data provider — Wolters Kluwer Health — health
Developing a drug from a promising molecule to a potential life-saver can take more than a decade and cost billions of dollars. Speeding this process up - without compromising on safety or efficacy - would seem to be in everyone's interests. And cloud computing is helping to do just that. "Cloud platforms are globally accessible and easily available," says Kevin Julian, managing director at Accenture Life Sciences, Accelerated R&D Services division. "This allows for real-time collection of data from around the world, providing better access to data from inside life sciences companies, as well as from the many partners they work with in the drug development process." Clinical trials - testing
