FDA approves first cancer biosimilar

15 September 2017

US biotech Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) and Ireland-incorporated drugmaker Allergan (NYSE: AGN) became the first to receive regulatory approval to market a biosimilar referencing a cancer drug in the USA on Tuesday.

Their copycat of Avastin (bevacizumab), a drug used for certain colorectal, lung, brain, kidney and cervical cancers that is marketed by Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX), has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Avastin had global sales of 6.78 billion Swiss francs ($7.02 billion) in 2016, a total bettered by only one other cancer drug, namely Roche’s MabThera/Rituxan (rituximab).

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