CHICAGO, June 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- According to
Pharmaceutical Scientist, Inc., biosimilars are copies of
biological drugs introduced after the expiry of the patents or
exclusivity of new biological drugs as a more affordable choice for
patients. In the US, the legislation has also created an
interchangeable class of biosimilars that requires extensive
clinical efficacy testing, and the first interchangeable product
gets one year of exclusivity. Developers have used the
interchangeable status to claim the superiority of their product
despite the FDA warnings in a new guideline1 that
ensures that both classes of biosimilars are equally safe and
effective. More significant is the concern that the additional
studies are redundant and tantamount to human abuse, as proven by
Professor Niazi2 and later confirmed in the studies
conducted by the FDA3. But the FDA does not have the
right to remove the interchangeable status, so
Professor Niazi, who has been advising the FDA for many
years,4 filed a Citizen Petition in 20235
advising the FDA how to go around this problem by allowing
interchangeability without requiring additional studies, a decision
that the FDA has the right to make, and do it until the US Senate
votes on a pending bill presented by Senator Lee, with advice from
Professor Niazi, to remove the interchangeable
status.6
![FDA Agrees with Professor Niazi to allow Interchangeable status to biosimilars FDA Agrees with Professor Niazi to allow Interchangeable status to biosimilars](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2446756/Pharmaceutical_Scientist_Inc.jpg)
The FDA accepted Professor Niazi's advice and issued a guideline
on 20th June
2024,7 allowing developers to claim
interchangeability by presenting an argument that the data
presented is sufficient to receive interchangeable status; the FDA
has that right, but the developer must assert this. Also, the first
filer will get 12 months of exclusive interchangeability, which
should encourage the entry of many new biosimilar products.
This is the second change to the regulations of biosimilar
approval; the first change, the FDA Modernization Act 2 enacted in
2022, was also based on Professor Niazi's publications in the
Science magazine8 asserting that animal toxicology
testing in animals is useless and can be detrimental to the safety
evaluation of biosimilars.
Professor Niazi is now anticipating a third change, wherein the
FDA will remove efficacy testing altogether based on the robustness
of analytical and clinical pharmacology testing, which is more
sensitive than efficacy testing9 that is now considered
by the European Medicines Agency and allowed by the UK's Medicines
and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; while the FDA also
agrees, interference by the big pharma has held it back since this
will reduce the development cost of biosimilars to allow entry of
smaller companies and eventually remove big pharma competing in the
field of biosimilars. This will, however, be the best solution, as
promoted by Professor Niazi.10
"Regulatory agencies were unsure about the safety of biosimilars
in the beginning, but now that their safety and efficacy are well
established, it is time that the FDA adopt the most rational plan
for their approval; removing efficacy testing will reduce the
development cost by more than 80% without compromising safety, and
this change will revolutionize access to biological drugs
globally," stated Professor Niazi, in the letter he sent to Dr.
Sarah Yim of the FDA who oversees
the biosimilars program at the FDA, thanking her for accepting his
recommendations.
Professor Niazi is an adjunct professor at the College of
Pharmacy, University of Illinois, and a
consultant to regulatory agencies and developers.
For more information, please write to reg@pharmsci.com
1
https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/labeling-biosimilar-and-interchangeable-biosimilar-products
2 Niazi SK. No two classes of biosimilars: Urgent
advice to the US Congress and the FDA. J Clin Pharm Ther. 2022 Sep;47(9):1352-1361.
3 Herndon, TM, et al., 2023, Safety Outcomes When
Switching Between Biosimilars and Reference Biologics: A Systematic
Review and Meta-Analysis, PLoS ONE, 18(10):e0292231; Kurki, P, et
al., Safety, Immunogenicity and Interchangeability of Biosimilar
Monoclonal Antibodies and Fusion Proteins: A Regulatory
Perspective, Drugs, 81(16):1881–1896; Kurki, P, et al., 2017,
Interchangeability of Biosimilars: A European Perspective,
BioDrugs, 31(2):83-91.
4
https://www.regulations.gov/search?agencyIds=FDA&filter=niazi
5
https://www.regulations.gov/document/FDA-2023-P-3766-0001
6
https://www.lee.senate.gov/2023/7/lee-seeks-increased-competition-in-biological-drug-market
7
https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/considerations-demonstrating-interchangeability-reference-product-update
8 Niazi SK. End animal testing for biosimilar
approval. Science. 2022 Jul
8;377(6602):162-163.
9 Niazi S. Scientific Rationale for Waiving Clinical
Efficacy Testing of Biosimilars. Drug Des Devel Ther. 2022 Aug
24;16:2803-2815
10 Niazi SK. Biosimilars Adoption: Recognizing and
Removing the RoadBlocks. Clinicoecon Outcomes Res. 2023 Apr
12;15:281-294.
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SOURCE Pharmaceutical Scientist, Inc.