J&J’s Rem­i­cade — the poster child for how to block biosim­i­lars — fi­nal­ly set­tles Pfiz­er suit

Biosim­i­lars have proven time and again (al­though most­ly in Eu­rope) that com­pe­ti­tion works to bring down the cost of a once-pricey bi­o­log­ic, and can even ex­pand its use.

J&J’s Rem­i­cade, how­ev­er, has al­ways proven to be an out­lier.

Back in 2016, Pfiz­er won FDA ap­proval for its in­flix­imab biosim­i­lar, known as In­flec­tra, but when the launch foundered, the com­pa­ny sued J&J, claim­ing that the com­pa­ny’s plan to block biosim­i­lar com­pe­ti­tion worked in­cred­i­bly well. Pfiz­er even went on to win FDA ap­proval for a sec­ond in­flix­imab biosim­i­lar in 2017, known as Ix­i­fi, but de­cid­ed to nev­er launch it.

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