Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives Anti TNF and other biological medications Does anyone know about new generic bioagent

Hi all,

Just wondering does anyone know about new generic bioagent from korea?

Ive been looking for this news and was wondering if it is true. if it is, what is the name, how much is it, and is it approved by fda / eu

Thanks

Not sure if this is what you are referring to, but here's more information on the generic biologics: http://www.spondylitis.org/press/news/614-generic-tnf-biosimilar.aspx

What I found most promising is this statement: "As of April, 2014 there were 14 different biosimilar products submitted to the FDA for approval."

Similar to the link you provided, Brian. They should get about 30% cheaper

http://www.arthritis.ca/page.aspx?pid=7775

http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/biosi...ooms/2014-07-22

The trouble with biologics is that even if they go generic, they'll still be expensive. These will never be "$4 generics" on the Wal-Mart list.

Small molecule drugs are cheap to produce. They can be produced in chemical reactors, then dried, mixed with their additives, pressed into pills, and bottled. Voila.

But biologics have to be cloned from DNA sequences, then expressed in specific expression systems (usually Chinese Hamster Ovary [CHO] cells...don't ask me why) in very sterile, carefully-controlled bioreactors. The product must then be isolated and purified from the chemical soup in the reactor all under very finicky temperature and pH restrictions and then packaged in sterile fashion into syringes or vials. The cost to manufacture a one-month supply of ENBREL is proprietary, but it's probably $50-200.

By contrast, the cost to manufacture the entire world's yearly supply of aspirin is under $100.