Ky­owa Hakko Kirin gears up to test IDO/PD-1 com­bo; Ab­b­Vie fights Hu­mi­ra biosim­i­lars with 80% price cut in Eu­rope

→ Turns out IDO is not dead yet. Ky­owa Hakko Kirin has an­nounced that it is test­ing its IDO in­hibitor in com­bi­na­tion with the PD-1 drug from Mer­ck KGaA and Pfiz­er, avelum­ab. The Japan­ese phar­ma will take charge of the proof-of-con­cept tri­al in the US, which will re­cruit pa­tients with sol­id tu­mors.

→ In an ef­fort to dis­si­pate the threat of Hu­mi­ra biosim­i­lars, at least four of which launched in the EU last month, Ab­b­Vie has slashed the block­buster rheuma­toid arthri­tis drug’s price by 80% in Eu­ro­pean mar­kets. That’s ac­cord­ing to a new re­port from Bern­stein’s Ron­ny Gal cit­ed by mul­ti­ple sources. Gal sug­gests that Ab­b­Vie’s goal here is to “de­fend the US mar­ket by deny­ing the biosim­i­lars in-mar­ket ex­pe­ri­ence,” though they will still be able to make mon­ey at this price.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER