Fresenius Kabi announced it has launched Tyenne®, the first EC-approved biosimilar to Roche’s Actemra®/RoActemra® in the EU. Tyenne® was approved by the EC on 19 September 2023 to treat rheumatoid arthritis, giant cell arteritis, polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, cytokine release syndrome and COVID-19.
Merck announced that the US FDA has approved Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC), in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin. This brings the total number of US approved gastrointestinal-related indications for Keytruda® to six.
In October the FDA approved Keytruda® for the treatment of patients with resectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in combination with platinum-containing chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment, and then continued as a single agent as adjuvant treatment after surgery.
On 31 October 2023, the FDA approved Amgen’s Wezlana® (ustekinumab-auub), as the first FDA-approved biosimilar to Janssen’s Stelara®. Wezlana is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and active psoriatic arthritis (each in both adults and paediatric patients six years and older), and the treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease and moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (in adults). Wezlana® is a subcutaneous injection in a 45mg/0.5mL pre-filled syringe and a 45mg/0.5mL vial.
Novartis announced that the FDA approved Cosentyx® (secukinumab) to treat moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in adults.
On 27 October 2023 the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended Cosentyx® for moderate to severe HS.
The FDA has approved Bristol Myers Squibb’s supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for subcutaneous use of Orencia® (abatacept) to treat juvenile psoriatic arthritis (JPsA) in patients aged two and older.
On 1 November 2023, changes introduced following the March 2023 PBAC meeting will take effect with a view to encouraging biosimilar uptake in Australia.
Aragen announced it is establishing a new US$30M, 160,000m2 biologics manufacturing site in Bangalore, India. The facility will include multiple GMP manufacturing suites, quality control and process development labs, and downstream purification capabilities.
On 12 October 2023, the Dr Reddy’s biologics manufacturing facility in Hyderabad was issued a Form 483 from the FDA.
Bristol Myers Squibb announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has validated its type II variation application for Opdivo® (nivolumab) in combination with cisplatin-based chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. This validation of the application confirms the submission is complete.
On 22 August 2023 the European Commission expanded the indication for Opdivo® as a monotherapy for adjuvant treatment of patients over 12 with stage IIB or IIC melanoma who have undergone complete resection.
Novartis announced that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued final draft guidance recommending Cosentyx® (secukinumab) to treat active moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in adults in England and Wales. It will be recommended for patients with an inadequate response to conventional systemic HS therapy and where adalimumab is not suitable.
On 6 October 2023 the FDA approved Novartis’ new intravenous formulation of Cosentyx® for the treatment of adults with psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis.
Eli Lilly announced that the FDA has approved its Omvoh® (mirikizumab-mrkz) for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) in adults.
On 1 April 2023, Eli Lilly launched its insulin glargine (Rezvoglar®) biosimilar to Sanofi’s Lantus®, in the US.
Omvoh® is currently being assessed by the TGA, and was accepted for assessment in July 2022. It was also approved in the EU by the European Commission on 26 May 2023
Naomi Pearce
CEO, Executive Lawyer (AU, NZ), Patent & Trade Mark Attorney (AU, NZ)
Naomi is the founder of Pearce IP, and is one of Australia’s leading IP practitioners. Naomi is a market leading, strategic, commercially astute, patent lawyer, patent attorney and trade mark attorney, with over 25 years’ experience, and a background in molecular biology/biochemistry. Ranked in virtually every notable legal directory, highly regarded by peers and clients, with a background in molecular biology, Naomi is renown for her successful and elegant IP/legal strategies.
Among other awards, Naomi is ranked in Chambers, IAM Patent 1000, IAM Strategy 300, is a MIP “Patent Star”, and is recognised as a WIPR Leader for patents and trade marks. Naomi is the 2023 Lawyers Weekly “IP Partner of the Year”, the 2022 Lexology client choice award recipient for Life Sciences, the 2022 Asia Pacific Women in Business Law “Patent Lawyer of the Year” and the 2021 Lawyers Weekly Women in Law SME “Partner of the Year”. Naomi is the founder of Pearce IP, which commenced in 2017 and won 2021 “IP Team of the Year” at the Australian Law Awards.
Sian Hope
Lawyer
Sian is a life sciences focussed intellectual property lawyer with a particular focus on the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and healthcare industries. Her practice is primarily in patent litigation, but includes non-contentious patent matters, trade mark matters, health regulatory legal matters and consumer law.