Pfizer will begin selling a cheaper version of one of Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) most popular products.
Pfizer announced Monday that it will begin shipment of Inflectra, a biosimilar of J&J’s rheumatoid-arthritis treatment Remicade, to wholesalers in the United States in late November 2016.
The company says Inflectra will be the first biosimilar monoclonal antibody (mAb) and only the second biosimilar to be available in the United States.
Inflectra is approved for the treatment of adult patients and pediatric patients with Chrons disease, ulcerative colitis, as well rheumatoid arthritis.
J&J has already contested Inflectra, but a federal court on Wednesday ruled that the drug does not infringe on J&J’s patent. J&J said it will appeal the ruling.
According to a report on the Wall Street Journal’s website, Remicade, which was first approved for sale in the United States in 1998, is J&J’s largest product by sales. The drug accounted for $6.5 billion in sales last year.
Pfizer said that Inflectra will be introduced at a 15 percent discount to the current wholesaler acquisition cost (WAC) of Remicade.
