Pfizer Plans to Launch Remicade Biosimilar in November -- Update
18 October 2016 - 10:16AM
Dow Jones News
By Jonathan D. Rockoff
Pfizer Inc. said Monday it will begin selling a biosimilar
version of blockbuster rheumatoid-arthritis treatment Remicade in
late November at a 15% discount off the brand-name drug's list
price.
The announcement is likely to set up a fierce battle, in the
courts as well as in contract talks with health insurers, between
two of the biggest drug companies in the world by sales. Pfizer is
launching its version, called Inflectra, before the resolution of
an ongoing patent dispute with Remicade's maker Johnson &
Johnson.
Johnson & Johnson in a statement promised to fight the
biosimilar's launch on a range of fronts. The company vowed to
"defend our intellectual property rights" and to "compete through a
variety of innovative contracting options."
Johnson & Johnson also noted Remicade's "well-established
profile" built over 22 years of use in 2.6 million patients and
that Inflectra can't be automatically substituted for Remicade.
Pfizer's Inflectra would be only the second biosimilar to go on
sale under the regulatory framework established as part of the
federal health-care overhaul to bring competition to the high-price
biotech drugs, much like generics did with traditional pills.
Despite the promise, analysts say the launch of the first
biosimilar -- Zarxio from Novartis AG, a version of Amgen Inc.'s
Neupogen -- has gone relatively slowly. Analysts expect use will
pick up, however, as more of the copies enter the market and
doctors become more comfortable prescribing them.
Remicade is a lucrative target. The drug is one of Johnson &
Johnson's top selling products, notching $4.5 billion in U.S. sales
last year.
J&J could lose $1 billion in Remicade revenue in 2017 due to
Inflectra, though the company has new drugs whose sales could help
offset the loss, J.P. Morgan analyst Michael Weinstein said in a
research note. "Inflectra's 15% discount should provide enough of
an incentive to help attract new patients to start on Inflectra,
but probably won't be enough of a discount to entice stable
patients to switch over," Mr. Weinstein wrote.
A year's treatment for a typical patient lists for $28,945, the
J&J spokeswoman said, though the cost varies depending on the
patient's weight and condition.
J&J says the average price paid for Remicade, after
discounts, is 30% less than the list price, and nearly half of
commercially insured patients don't have a copay under their
medical benefits. J&J also says it provides assistance that
reduces the out-of-pocket cost of an infusion to no more than
$5.
Health insurers have complained that drug companies have
weakened the potential cost savings from biosimilar competition by
raising the list prices of the original brands far above the 15% to
30% discounted list price expected for biosimilars.
Pfizer plans to list a vial of Inflectra for $946.28, a company
spokeswoman said. The biosimilar is also approved for treatment of
certain patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Write to Jonathan D. Rockoff at Jonathan.Rockoff@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2016 19:01 ET (23:01 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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