Prime Therapeutics Statement on U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Approval of Biosimilar Inflectra

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval yesterday of the second U.S. biosimilar, Inflectra™ (infliximab-dyyb), is a positive step in the pursuit of affordable drug prices. Inflectra is a biosimilar to Janssen Biotech, Inc.'s Remicade (infliximab) and treats Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, plaque psoriasis and a number of other conditions. While this approval is a welcome milestone, Prime remains cautiously optimistic about the biosimilars market and its ability to drive down drug prices in the near future. "Inflectra's approval comes more than a year after the first biosimilar was approved in the U.S.," said David Lassen, chief clinical officer for Prime. "If approvals continue to be this slow, it will be many years for biosimilars to have an impact on high drug prices. Americans can't afford to wait and more needs to be done to slow the unsustainable growth in drug costs." Significant issues still remain with regard to interchangeability, and naming still needs to be finalized. Until these are resolved manufacturers may be reluctant to bring more biosimilars to market. Prime encourages regulators and the FDA to speed up approvals and finalize their decisions on this complex and influential issue in our industry.

Click here to read our whitepaper on the economics of biosimilars.

About Prime Therapeutics
Prime Therapeutics LLC (Prime) helps people get the medicine they need to feel better and live well. Prime manages pharmacy benefits for health plans, employers, and government programs including Medicare and Medicaid. The company processes claims and delivers medicine to members, offering clinical services for people with complex medical conditions. Headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., Prime serves more than 26 million people. It is collectively owned by 13 Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans, subsidiaries or affiliates of those plans. Prime has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the nation. 

For more information, visit www.primetherapeutics.com or follow @Prime_PBM on Twitter.

SOURCE Prime Therapeutics LLC

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