Development and 10-year history of a biosimilar: the example of Binocrit®. (16th April 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aapro, Matti; Krendyukov, Andriy; Höbel, Nadja; Seidl, Andreas; Gascón, Pere
• Is Part Of: Therapeutic advances in medical oncology. Volume 10(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-04-16
• Subjects: Binocrit -- biosimilars -- chemotherapy-induced anemia -- HX575; Oncology -- Periodicals; Cancer -- Treatment -- Periodicals; 616.994005
• DOI: 10.1177/1758835918768419
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1758-8340

Abstract

Patent expirations for several biological products have prompted the development of alternative versions, termed 'biosimilars', which have comparable quality, safety and efficacy to a licensed biological medicine (also referred to as the 'reference' medicine). The first biosimilars developed in oncology were the supportive-care agents filgrastim and epoetin. Binocrit ® (HX575) is a biosimilar version of epoetin alfa, indicated in the oncology setting for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced anemia (CIA). The process for development and approval of Binocrit ® as a biosimilar included extensive analytical characterization and comparison with the reference epoetin alfa. This was followed by a clinical development program comprising phase I pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies to show bioequivalence to the reference medicine and a confirmatory phase III study to confirm therapeutic effectiveness in CIA. Since its approval, Binocrit ® has been extensively used and studied in real-world clinical practice. The accumulated data confirm that Binocrit ® is an effective and well-tolerated option for the treatment of CIA in patients with cancer.