Biosimilars coming... Rituxan/MabThera patent ending... impact?

[Cllcanada]

This is an interesting overview of Roche and Rituxan/MabThera

'Roche faces its first big test at the end of this year when it loses exclusivity in Europe on MabThera, also known as Rituxan, a treatment for blood cancers and rheumatoid arthritis that had sales of 6.7 billion Swiss francs ($7 billion) in 2012.

The patent loss is the first of several looming expiries on expensive biotech medicines to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases, opening up a big commercial opportunity for those who manage to develop lower-cost copies known as "biosimilars".'

REUTERS

reuters.com/article/2013/03...

[jangreen]

Hi its bad for drugs companies but good for patients.