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Sandoz, a Novartis division, and the pioneer and global leader in biosimilars, announced today that the EC has approved Rixathon® (biosimilar rituximab*) for use in Europe**. Rixathon is approved for use in all indications of the reference medicine, MabThera® [2],[3].
“Today’s approval of Rixathon represents a big win for patients in Europe with blood cancers or immunological diseases because it enables increased access to biologics. It also allows healthcare systems to redeploy resources to other areas of high need, particularly innovative therapies” said Carol Lynch, Global Head, Biopharmaceuticals, Sandoz. “Sandoz is committed to increasing patient access to biologic medicines, and Rixathon will be one of the five major launches we plan in the next four years. We have worked with care and passion towards this approval, and now is the time when we are bringing this medicine to healthcare professional and patients in Europe.”
Rixathon is approved for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, as well as immunological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and microscopic polyangiitis[2].
The EC approval was based on a comprehensive development program generating analytical, preclinical, and clinical – including pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) – data. The program demonstrated Rixathon matches its reference medicine in terms of safety, efficacy, and quality[4]-[7].
Sandoz is committed to increasing patient access to high-quality, life-enhancing biosimilar medicines. It is the pioneer and global leader in biosimilars, and now has four biosimilar medicines approved in Europe. Sandoz has a leading biosimilar pipeline, and plans to obtain approval for and launch four more biosimilars of major oncology and immunology biologics by 2020. A division of the Novartis Group, Sandoz is well positioned to lead the biosimilars industry based on its experience and capabilities in development, manufacturing, and commercialization.
About Rixathon
EC approval was based on a comprehensive development program, including analytical, preclinical, and clinical data, demonstrating biosimilarity of Rixathon to the reference medicine, MabThera®. Clinical studies included:
The ASSIST-RA study, which demonstrated that Rixathon and its reference medicine have equivalent PK/PD profiles, with no clinically meaningful differences in safety, tolerability, or immunogenicity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis[6].
The ASSIST-FL study; a Phase III confirmatory efficacy and safety study. The study met its primary endpoint of equivalence in overall response rate (ORR) between Rixathon and the reference medicine after six months. Results also confirmed the comparable safety profile of the two medicines[7].
About Sandoz
Sandoz is a global leader in generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars. As a division of the Novartis Group, our purpose is to discover new ways to improve and extend people’s lives. We contribute to society’s ability to support growing healthcare needs by pioneering novel approaches to help people around the world access high-quality medicine. Our portfolio of approximately 1000 molecules, covering all major therapeutic areas, accounted for 2016 sales of USD 10.1 billion. In 2016, our products reached well over 500 million patients and we aspire to reach one billion. Sandoz is headquartered in Holzkirchen, in Germany’s Greater Munich area.
*Sandoz biosimilar rituximab has also been approved in the EU as Riximyo® under a duplicate marketing authorization[8].
**European Economic Area (EEA). The European Economic Area (EEA) provides for the free movement of persons, goods, services and capital within the internal market of the European Union (EU) between its 28 member states, as well as three of the four member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
***MabThera® is a registered trademark of F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG.
References
[1] European Medicines Agency. European public assessment reports. Available at: http://www.ema.europa.eu/ema/index.jsp?curl=pages/medicines/landing/epar_search.jsp&mid=WC0b01ac058001d124 (link is external). [Accessed: June 2017].
[2] European Medicines Agency. Rixathon® Summary of Product Characteristics.
[3] European Medicines Agency. MabThera® Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/2570 (link is external). [Accessed: June 2017].
[4] Visser J, et al. Physicochemical and Functional Comparability Between the Proposed Biosimilar Rituximab GP2013 and Originator Rituximab. BioDrugs. 2013; 27: 495-507.
[5] Da Silva A, et al. Target-directed development and preclinical characterization of the proposed biosimilar rituximab GP2013. Leuk Lymphoma. 2014; 55: 1609-1617.
[6] Smolen J, et al. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety and efficacy of proposed rituximab biosimilar (GP2013) vs. EU-Approved rituximab (rtx) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results from a randomized controlled trial (GP13-201) over 52 weeks. EULAR congress, 8-11 June 2016, London, UK: FRI0222.
[7] Jurczak W, et al. A Phase III Efficacy and Safety Study of the Proposed Rituximab Biosimilar GP2013 Versus Rituximab in Patients with Previously Untreated Advanced Follicular Lymphoma (link is external). ASH annual meeting, 3-6 December 2016, San Diego, USA: 1809.
[8] European Medicines Agency. Riximyo® Summary of Product Characteristics.
Eric Althoff
Novartis Global Media Relations
+41 61 324 7999 (direct)
+41 79 593 4202 (mobile)
eric.althoff@novartis.com
Tara Lanigan
Sandoz Global Communications
+49 172 8295 27
tara.lanigan@sandoz.com
Chris Lewis
Sandoz Global Communications
+49 8024 476 1906
chris.lewis@sandoz.com
Novartis Investor Relations
Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944
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