Alvotech has announced a new marketing agreement for its biosimilar of Cimzia, which applies to commercialization in Europe. The company has extended its marketing relationship with Advanz Pharma to include AVT10 in Europe. The US marketing of AVT10 (formally known as XB003) is still an open question.
As reported in 2020, biosimilar manufacturers have in general avoided pipeline development of a certolizumab biosimilar, partly because of the difficulty in manufacturing this anti-TNF inhibitor and the patent wall constructed by the reference manufacturer UCB pharma. Alvotech was seemingly the only manufacturer publicly stating that it intended to produce a certolizumab biosimilar for the US market.
The company had partnered with Biogen to commercialize the product in the US; Biogen exited the biosimilar field in 2024, leaving Alvotech without a commercialization partner. In an email, Benedikt Stafansson, Alvotech’s Vice President, Investor Relations and Global Communication, provided an update: “AVT10 is currently in the preclinical stage of development, and we are targeting a 2028 launch.” It seems that prospects have not improved for a US certolizumab biosimilar 5 years later.
According to UCB, US net sales of Cimzia for the first six months of 2025 were €585 million ($684 million), which was 7% lower than in the same 6 months of 2024. However, it is not expecting biosimilar competition in the near future, despite losing patent protection in the US in February 2024. The company noted that volume had increased by 8% during this period in the US but decreasing net prices lowered the overall total sales figures.
This fits with the overall trend for lower net sales for anti-TNF inhibitors, which are likely affected by the heavy competition from adalimumab biosimilars and the growing sales of interleukin inhibitors for the immunology space.
Another Ustekinumab Supplier in 2026 and Price Cut
The PBM MedImpact has announced that it will make available an unbranded version of Alvotech and Teva’s ustekinumab biosimilar, ustekinumab-aekn, and provide it to any specialty pharmacy at a 95% discount to Stelara’s current wholesale acquisition cost (WAC).Teva’s subsidiary, Anda, will distribute the unbranded biosimilar, and it will be made available through Birdi, Inc., a digital mail-order pharmacy. This discount will bring the net price down to $1457 per 90-mg dose, and it comes on the heels of a 92% discount now being offered by Accord BioPharma.
