Hetero debuts biosimilar of Roche's Avastin in India

27 June 2016

Indian generics drugmaker Hetero Group said today it has launched a biosimilar of bevacizumab, the active ingredient of Swiss pharma giant Roche’s (ROG: SXI) blockbuster cancer drug Avastin, in India for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

The product has been approved by Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and has been recommended as a first-line treatment for mCRC. The product will be made available to patients in a single dose vial with two strengths, 100mg and 400mg. It will be marketed and distributed by Hetero Healthcare, a group company of Hetero under the brand name Cizumab.

"Roche has filed a lawsuit to block the launch of Hetero's biosimilar bevacizumab before the Honourable High Court. However the High Court has not given any injunction order and as such the launch is not prohibited," a Hetero spokesperson told Business Today. Bevacizumab has received the required approvals from the regulatory authority to launch the product, he added.

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