Health Canada has become the first regulator to approve Sanofi /Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s rheumatoid arthritis treatment and IL-6 receptor agonist Kevzara (sarilumab). Analysts expect further approvals and launches in the second and third quarters of 2017, but, without competitive pricing, a lack of head-to-head data comparing Kevzara with its main competitor and first-to-market IL-6 receptor agonist, Roche/Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s Actemra, could prevent the drug from taking a significant market share, according to Datamonitor Healthcare.
Canadian authorities have approved Kevzara for treating adults with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response or intolerance to one or more biologic or non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs)