Study suggests effectiveness and safety of Novartis’ drug copies Zessly and Erelzi

Some companies, including Novartis’ generics unit Sandoz, are producing cheaper biosimilar copies of J & J’s Remicade and Amgen’s Enbrel, both of which had top sales of around $7 billion, in order to profit from a share of the sales.
Novartis has pointed to a study that it says evidences the safety and efficacy of its biosimilar copies of Remicade and Enbrel for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. It said in a statement that the results of the study showed that Zessly, its Remicade biosimilar, matched Remicade on effectiveness and safety at 54 weeks, including in patients who switched from Remicade to Zessly. The study showed the same results for its Enbrel biosimilar, whereby there was no impact on effectiveness or safety in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis at 48 weeks when they switched from Enbrel to Novartis’ Erelzi.
Novartis hopes the results of the study will help convince doctors that switching from Remicade and Enbrel to Zessly and Erelzi is a feasible alternative solution for treating autoimmune diseases.
Mark Levick, head of development of biologic drugs at Sandoz said: “It is our hope that these studies will help healthcare providers and patients have confidence that switching to Zessly or Erelzi will continue to deliver the benefits they are receiving from their existing treatment”.