Hospira to market first biogeneric medicine

Lake Forest-based hospital products maker Hospira Inc. said today it landed European authorization to market the biogeneric anemia drug Retacrit in Europe, making the medicine its first marketed biogeneric medicine.

Hospira said it will launch the product, used to treat anemia in cancer and dialysis patients, in Europe beginning with Germany in early 2008, but Hospira executives said earlier that the drug won’t have an impact on Hospira’s bottom line in the next few years.

Biogenerics or biosimilars are cheaper generic versions of expensive biotechnology drugs, which are made from genetically modified living cells. Patients and their health insurers face annual drug costs of $20,000 to $200,000 for some of the high-tech life-saving biotechnology medicines, with which biogenerics would compete.

Unlike in Europe, there is no legal pathway in the United States at present to bring to market biogenerics. But Hospira is among companies pushing Congress to change that.

Retacrit will compete with the branded biotechnology drug Epogen, sold by Amgen Inc. and Johnson & Johnson and part of a $2 billion branded market in Europe.

“We are proud to offer Retacrit to patients and healthcare professionals in Europe, because it will lead the way in establishing a well tolerated and effective anemia treatment with significant cost savings,” said Michael Kotsanis, Hospira’s president of Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Hospira spokesman Jason Hodges declined to specify the price the company will set for Retacrit, saying it’s premature.

Retacrit is manufactured and packaged in Europe. It is being developed, manufactured and distributed under agreements between Hospira and Germany-based Stada Arzneimittel AG and Bioceuticals Arzneimittel AG.

Source:www.suntimes.com