Fujifilm predicts Hulio to be ‘amongst first wave’ of Humira biosimilars
Fujifilm Kyowa Kirin Biologics, should its biosimilar receive European Commission (EC) approval, will commercialise Hulio (adalimumab) alongside Mylan, after a deal was announced earlier this year.
The final decision by the EC is expected to be announced by October 2018.
A spokesperson for Fujifilm confirmed to us that it “expect[s] to be amongst the first wave of biosimilars to adalimumab coming to the market in Europe.”
Just last week, Sandoz became the fourth company to successfully receive EC approval for its biosimilar to Humira.
Previous licensing deals signed by AbbVie to protect its product show that it will face competition from biosimilars, in Europe, on October 16 of this year.
It means that Hulio looks set to become the fifth biosimilar to receive approval and could launch the product the same month. The spokesperson for Fujifilm confirmed that it “will launch [its product] as soon as possible on a market-by-market basis.”
A major factor separating these biosimilars could be decided on pricing; when asked, the spokesperson stated that pricing would be revealed at launch.
As well as developing a biosimilar to Humira, it is also working with AstraZeneca to jointly develop a biosimilar to Roche’s Avastin (bevacizumab).
Wider than biosimilars
Fujifilm has a wider pharma portfolio beyond its biosimilar collaboration with Kyowa Kirin Biologics. The spokesperson revealed that the company is also “working to develop novel drugs particularly in the field of oncology, infectious disease and neurological disease, and these are at different stages of the discovery and development cycle.”
It also possesses the contract development and organisation, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, which recently opened a new lab in the UK.
The spokesperson also noted that the company is working on developing drug delivery systems, using liposome technology.
