Biocad biosimilar to 'double' rituximab users in Bolivia and Honduras

Russian biotech Biocad expects to double the amount of people in Bolivia and Honduras able to receive rituximab with its biosimilar version of the cancer drug, which the company expects to launch in the third quarter of this year.

It will be the first rituximab biosimilar to be launched in the two countries and will be sold under the trade name Usmal. The brand names of the reference drug, meanwhile, are Rituxan and MabThera, and its manufacturer is the Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX).

This launch also marks the entry of the first Biocad product to the Latin American market, which the company sees as strategically important. Registration of Usmal in other countries in the region is ongoing and by the end of 2017, it expects to have received two more marketing authorization certificates.