December 12 RxAdvocate December, 2021 — Newsletter
December Stories:
- Biosimilar For Enbrel Blocked Until 2029
- COVID-19 Oral Antiviral Medication Coming Soon
- National Influenza Vaccination Week
Eticovo, a biosimilar to anti-inflammatory product Enbrel, has been blocked for U.S. sales by a New Jersey District Court ruling this month. The decision will prevent market competition for Enbrel in the U.S. until at least 2029. The delay of biosimilars into the U.S. market for Enbrel comes at a hefty price tag, as it has been estimated that biosimilars for this product alone would save $1 billion per year. Enbrel was first approved in 1998 and would typically be well past its patent expiration but patent extensions and protections have prevented the entrants of biosimilar equivalents up to this point.
Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics have been working on soon-to-be-released, Molnupiravir. This oral prescription medication has proven to reduce the risk of hospitalization by 30% if taken within the first five days of symptoms.
Pfizer is also working on another antiviral solution, which is proving to be 85% effective when taken within the first five days of symptoms. This could be authorized as early as the end of this year.
National Influenza Vaccination Week
National Influenza Vaccination Week is December 5-11th this year with the CDC. Here is some clarifying information to help guide you through flu season.
Click here for more information
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