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Novartis 'Biosimilar' Drug Blocked by U.S. Appeals Court
Reuters (05/07/15) Levine, Dan
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has blocked the sale of Novartis AG's recently approved biosimilar form of filgrastim (Neupogen), the popular Amgen drug used to prevent infections in cancer patients. The appeals court ruled that an injunction could take effect while Amgen's appeal is pending. Oral arguments on the appeal have been set for June 3. The Novartis drug, filgrastim-sndz (Zarxio), contains the same active ingredient as Amgen's $1.2 billion-a-year drug, and once launched, would become the first biosimilar in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration approved Zarxio in March for the same five conditions for which Neupogen is used among cancer patients undergoing various treatments.
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