<p>The global biosimilars market is forecast to grow to $24 billion by 2019. A few major contenders -- Hospira, Novartis, and Mylan --
could profit from that growth.
Leo Sun (TMFSunLion)
Mar 5, 2014 at 2:30PM
The global market for biosimilars, or generic versions of biologic medical products, is expected to soar to $24 billion by 2019,
according to a recent report from Frost & Sullivan -- not bad for a fledgling industry that currently only consists of a handful of
drugs.
Biosimilars have appeared in response to the patent cliff now facing some of the top-selling biologic drugs of the past decade.
In this article, we'll examine biosimilar versions of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Merck's (NYSE:MRK) Remicade,
Amgen's (NASDAQ:AMGN) Enbrel, and Roche's (NASDAQOTH:RHHBY) Herceptin, and look at just how much these new
contenders matter to patients and investors.
Generic Remicade
The blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis treatment Remicade is a core source of revenue for J&J (NYSE:JNJ) and Merck
(NYSE:MRK), which co-market the drug globally:
Company
2013 Remicade sales
YOY growth
Percentage of total revenue
J&J
$6.67 billion
8.7%
9.4%
Merck
$2.27 billion
9%
5.2%
SOURCE: COMPANY ANNUAL REPORTS.
Remicade's European patent will expire in February 2015, although its U.S. patent will last until September 2018.
That's where Hospira (NYSE:HSP), a maker of injectable drugs and medical devices, comes in. Hospira is no stranger to
biosimilars -- two of its newer drugs, Retacrit and Nivestim, are respective generic versions of J&J's (NYSE:JNJ) anemia drug
Procrit/Eprex and Amgen's (NASDAQ:AMGN) neutropenia treatment Neupogen.
Hospira's (NYSE:HSP) biosimilar version of Remicade, known as Inflectra, last September became the first biosimilar
monoclonal antibody ever approved in the European Union. Hospira (NYSE:HSP) co-developed the drug with South Korean
company Celltrion, which will market the product as Remsima.
MENU
Ticker or Keyword
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
Hospira (NYSE:HSP) plans to launch Inflectra across Eastern Europ