News Briefs: Celltrion Launches Vegzelma, Fourth Avastin Biosimilar in U.S.

  • May 11, 2023

    Celltrion Healthcare Co. launched Vegzelma (bevacizumab-adcd), the company said on April 17. The FDA approved the injectable last September for multiple types of cancer, including colorectal and non-small cell lung cancer. It is the fourth FDA-approved biosimilar of Avastin (bevacizumab) from Genentech USA, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, to launch in the U.S. While the company has partnered with other companies in marketing biosimilars in the U.S., its Celltrion USA unit is taking full responsibility for this launch.

    The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted 11-1 that AstraZeneca and Merck & Co., Inc.’s Lynparza (olaparib) in combination with abiraterone and prednisone or prednisolone for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) should be limited to people whose tumors have a BRCA mutation. The FDA accepted a supplemental New Drug Application for a broader approval in mCRPC for the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor last August. The class of drugs — which also includes GDK’s Zejula (niraparib) and Rubraca (rucaparib), whose rights Clovis Oncology, Inc. recently sold to pharma& Schweiz GmbH a few months after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy — have been under some scrutiny after they withdrew some of their indications.

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  • Angela Maas

    Angela has an extensive background of editing, reporting and writing for trade and consumer publications. She has written Radar on Specialty Pharmacy since she joined AIS Health in 2005 and has broad knowledge of the various issues at play within the space. She also has written for Spotlight on Market Access since its 2017 launch. Before joining AIS Health, she was managing editor at Employee Benefit News and Employee Benefit News Canada and managing editor at Hem Aware (a hemophilia publication), Lupus Living and Momentum (a multiple sclerosis publication). She has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in British literature from Arizona State University.

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