Amgen’s Mvasi, The First Cancer Biosimilar Gets FDA Approval
Amgen has now become the first company to claim approval for a biosimilar cancer drug in the US, getting the nod for its version of Roche’s $7bn-a-year blockbuster Avastin.
Biosimilars are a bit more complicated than your average competing medicine: Unlike generics for chemical-based drugs like antibiotics that can be interchangeable with branded versions, the copycats of biologic medications, produced using living cells, have a few more caveats.
The FDA has approved a number of these drugs. As it stands right now, biosimilars can’t be used interchangeably with branded versions, meaning if you were to get a prescription for a branded biologic, you wouldn’t be able to opt for the “generic” one at the pharmacy as easily as you could if the drug was, say, a statin.
MVASI is the first anti-cancer biosimilar, as well as the first bevacizumab biosimilar, approved by the FDA. Mvasi is approved for the treatment of five types of cancer, including in combination with chemotherapy for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in combination with chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), glioblastoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma in combination with interferon alfa and in combination with chemotherapy for persistent, recurrent
, or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix.“The approval of MVASI marks a significant milestone for healthcare practitioners and patients as the first anti-cancer biosimilar approved in the United States,” said Sean E. Harper, M.D., executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen. “With decades of experience in oncology and biologics, Amgen continues to expand its biosimilar and oncology portfolios, and MVASI has the potential to advance access to high-quality, targeted cancer therapy.”
The FDA’s approval of Mvasi is based on review of evidence that included extensive structural and functional characterization, animal study data, human pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamics data, clinical immunogenicity data and other clinical safety and effectiveness data that demonstrates Mvasi is biosimilar to Avastin. It has been approved as a biosimilar, not as an interchangeable product.
“Bringing new biosimilars to patients, especially for diseases where the cost of existing treatments can be high, is an important way to help spur competition that can lower healthcare costs and increase access to important therapies,” said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. “We’ll continue to work hard to ensure that biosimilar medications are brought to the market quickly, through a process that makes certain that these new medicines meet the FDA’s rigorous gold standard for safety and effectiveness.”
