Roche may lose $240 million contract in Russia to Biocad biosimilar

7 May 2014

Swiss drug major Roche (ROG: SIX) may loss an important $240 million contract in Russia for the supply of its anti-cancer drug MabThera (rituximab), as Russia’s leading biotech company Biocad, based in St Petersburg, has recently registered its biosimilar of MabThera.

The rituximab biosimilar, which will be marketed under the trade name AcellBia, is the first MAb biosimilar to receive a positive opinion from the Russian regulatory body, which was issued last month.

So far, MabThera has been on the list of essential drugs for the treatment of cancer in Russia, with the annual value of its public procurement being more than 8 billion roubles (around $240 million).

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