Payers Like Biosimilars, But Rebates Remain The Bottom Line (For Now)

The US launch of Pfizer's Inflectra has been an early case study for the US biosimilar market, and some biosimilar manufacturers and payers say market access challenges are worrying.

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Remicade biosimilar case reveals cavernous market challenges • Source: Shutterstock

The launch of the first biosimilar monoclonal antibody in the US, Pfizer Inc./Celltrion Inc.'s Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb), is raising questions about how biosimilar manufacturers can gain traction in the market when the innovator is willing to compete on price and play hard ball in contract negotiations with insurers – and payers are willing to shake on the deal.

Nearly one year after the launch of Inflectra, Johnson & Johnson's Remicade (infliximab) has held onto to the lion's...

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