Hospira's biosimilar Inflectra comparable to Remicade in IBD treatment

Positive data have been presented today on the use of Hospira's (NYSE: HSP) Inflectra (infliximab), the world's first approved biosimilar monoclonal antibody (MAb), at the European Crohn's and Colitis Organization Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (ECCO-ibd) conference.

Earlier this week, Hospira - currently the subject of a $17 billion agreed acquisition by US pharma giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) - announced the launch of Inflectra in major European markets.

Results show a comparable response in patients treated with Inflectra to that expected with the reference product, Remicade (infliximab), from US health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK; which has marketing rights outside the USA Japan and China), for inducing and maintaining remission in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). These data add to the body of evidence supporting Inflectra's use in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).