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Amgen Competitor Sells Neupogen Knockoff

Amgen Inc. faces a new type of competition with the launch of Zarxio, the first biosimilar drug approved for sale in the U.S. The Thousand Oaks biotech tried to delay the introduction of Zarxio, a copycat drug of Amgen’s Neupogen, with an injunction, but a court denied the motion Wednesday. The Food and Drug Administration approved Zarxio in March. Amgen sued to block the launch and an appeals court ruled in July that Novartis, the Swiss maker of Zarxio, could sell the product starting on Wednesday. Both Zarxio and Neupogen help chemotherapy patients fight infections by increasing white blood cell counts. Biosimilars are medicines that copy proprietary biotech drugs when patent protection expires. Because small differences in the environment or manufacturing processes may alter the final product, the drugs are called similar – but not identical – to the original drug. Neupogen’s patent expired last year. Novartis also announced that the wholesale list price for a 300 microgram syringe of Zarxio is $275.66, about 15 percent less than the cost of Neupogen, although specific sales prices will vary depending on volume and other factors. Shares of Amgen closed down $3.06 or 2 percent to $149.23 on the Nasdaq.

Joel Russel
Joel Russel
Joel Russell joined the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2006 as a reporter. He transferred to sister publication San Fernando Valley Business Journal in 2012 as managing editor. Since he assumed the position of editor in 2015, the Business Journal has been recognized four times as the best small-circulation tabloid business publication in the country by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. Previously, he worked as senior editor at Hispanic Business magazine and editor of Business Mexico.

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