Byooviz

Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. develops and produces biopharmaceutical and biosimilar products. Samsung Bioepis is a joint venture between Samsung Biologics and Biogen that operated as a subsidiary of Samsung Biologics Co., Ltd, until February 2022, when Biogen sold its stake in Samsung Biologics. In early 2013, Samsung Bioepsis and Merck entered into a business agreement to develop and commercialize biosimilars. Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. also entered into a strategic collaboration agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd in August 2017. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Incheon, South Korea.

Other biosimilars from Samsung that have been approved by the FDA include infliximab (Renflexis^®), trastuzumab (Ontruzant^®), etanercept (Eticovo^®), and adalimumab (Hadlima^®). The latter two products have not yet been marketed in the US. In addition, Samsung Bioepis has several biosimilars in the late-stage pipeline, including versions of aflibercept, bevacizumab, denosumab, eculizumab, and ustekinumab.,

Byooviz is the first biosimilar version of Lucentis to be approved, and other biosimilar competitors will be in play later in 2022. However, additional competition exists from the use of bevacizumab compounded by pharmacies and used for the same indication. This compounded product is priced far lower than that for Lucentis. Additionally, a manufactured form of bevacizumab specifically formulated for use as an intravitreal injection is awaiting FDA approval. Genentech, manufacturer of Lucentis, has introduced a port-administration system that allows for use of the reference product with fewer administrations.

Aflibercept, another intravitreally-administered drug used for the same indications, has a greater share of the market than Lucentis, and 6 biosimilars for this agent are due to be approved and launched before or by 2024.

(February 2, 2022) In 2019, Biogen upped its stake in the South Korean biosimilar joint venture, cementing its commitment to biosimilar manufacturing and commercialization. Today, however, Biogen has seemingly reversed course—though it is not exiting the biosimilar arena.

(October 27, 2021) Susvimo is a follow-on to Lucentis^®, an attempt to address one of the principal objections to ranibizumab treatment—monthly injections into the eye. However, Roche’s solution sounds only marginally more palatable: surgery (with a local anesthetic) to put an object into the eye that remains in place permanently. It is refilled with ranibizumab every six months. Clinical efficacy with Susvimo seems to be about the same as when receiving intravitreal injections.

(August 10, 2021) On August 5th, partners Formycon AG and Bioeq AG announced that they had completed its new biosimilar ranibizumab application to the Food and Drug Administration, with an eye toward a mid-2022 decision. The US marketer of the product, if approved, will be Coherus Biosciences.

(November 18, 2020) On November 18, Samsung Bioepis and its marketing partner Biogen jointly announced that the 351(k) application for SB11, a ranibizumab biosimilar, has been filed and accepted by the Food and Drug Administration.

(November 18, 2020) On November 18, Samsung Bioepis and its marketing partner Biogen jointly announced that the 351(k) application for SB11, a ranibizumab biosimilar, has been filed and accepted by the Food and Drug Administration. The US patent for Roche’s reference product Lucentis® expired in June 2020, and the market for ranibizumab could be over $1 billion.

(August 31, 2020) One of two biologics injected intravitreally to treat forms of macular degeneration, edema, or retinopathy, Eylea^® (aflibercept) was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on November 18, 2011. Originally approved as a single-dose vial, its manufacturer, Regeneron, received FDA approval of a prefilled syringe in December 2019. We covered the potential biosimilar competitors for the second product, Lucentis^® (ranibizumab), in January 2020.

(January 16, 2020) Roche’s reference product Lucentis^® (ranibizumab) seems to be the next likely target for biosimilar competition. Sales of the drug in the US were last reported to be $1.5 billion in 2017, but Roche’s revenues from Lucentis are expected to slip, owing to competition from Eylea^® (aflibercept) primarily and some newer agents. And new Lucentis biosimilars will hasten that decline.

(July 8, 2019) On occasion, we profile some biosimilar manufacturers about whom our readers may not be as familiar as the large players like Sandoz, Amgen, and Pfizer. This generally refers to companies that have products that are in earlier-stage research or those who simply have not been in the news as often as their colleagues. In this updated post, we highlight a German company, Formycon AG, which has eyes on the US marketplace.

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