Alvogen, Celltrion, Hospira sales and marketing update

Alvogen launched Inflectra infliximab, a biosimilar of autoimmune drug Remicade infliximab, in Central and Eastern Europe. Alvogen will market Inflectra in Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. Remicade is a chimeric mAb against TNF alpha from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ, New Brunswick, N.J.) and partner Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK, Whitehouse Station, N.J.). In September, Inflectra/ Remsima became the first biosimilar mAb to gain European approval. It was approved for multiple inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis. Hospira has co-exclusive rights from Celltrion to commercialize the biosimilar in the U.S., Canada, EU, Australia and New Zealand. Alvogen markets Inflectra as well as biosimilars Retacrit epoetin zeta and Nivestim filgrastim with Hospira in Central and Eastern Europe under a 2011 deal. Retacrit, a biosimilar of erythropoietin, is marketed to treat anemia associated with chronic renal failure and chemotherapy. Neutropenia drug Nivestim is a biosimilar of Neupogen filgrastim, a human G-CSF from Amgen Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN, Thousand Oaks, Calif.). ...