September 1, 2016
...AND CHEAPER...:
A new drug that could save the US billions just got approved (Lydia Ramsey August 30, 2016, Yahoo)
The FDA just approved a version of Enbrel, the blockbuster arthritis drug made by Amgen that brought in $5 billion in sales in 2015.The newly approved drug, made by Novartis' Sandoz division, will go by the marketed name Erelzi. It's a type of drug called a "biosimilar," which is like a generic version of a biologic medication, a medicine produced by living cells. [...]Having more biosimilars in the US would be a big deal: It might be the best way to drive down the cost of (generally very pricey) biologic medications that have been around for a while. The savings of putting people on less costly biosimilars -- even just new patients who have never taken the original -- are estimated to be billions of dollars.
Posted by Orrin Judd at September 1, 2016 4:40 PM