U.S. Approval of Biosimilar Cancer Drug Rocks Genentech

SUGAR LAND--September 18, 2017--Researched by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Biological drugmaker Genentech (a Roche company) (South San Francisco, California), the developer of the blockbuster cancer drug Avastin, was dealt a stunning blow on September 14 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a biosimilar (generic biological drug). The biosimilar, Mvasi (bevacizumab-awwb), the result of a partnership between Amgen (AMGN) (Thousand Oaks, California) and Allergan (AGN) (Dublin, Ireland), was approved for certain colorectal, lung, brain, kidney and cervical cancers.