Photo by Rhoda Baer
Cancer patient receiving chemotherapy
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a complete response letter saying the agency cannot approve MYL-1401H, a proposed biosimilar of pegfilgrastim (Neulasta).
Biocon and Mylan are seeking approval of MYL-1401H to reduce the duration of neutropenia and the incidence of febrile neutropenia in adults receiving chemotherapy to treat non-myeloid malignancies.
Biocon and Mylan filed the biologics license application for MYL-1401H in February.
The FDA had planned to issue a decision on the application by October 9.
Biocon and Mylan said the FDA’s complete response letter relates to a pending update to the application. The update involves chemistry manufacturing and control data from facility requalification activities after recent plant modifications.
The complete response letter did not raise any questions on the biosimilarity of MYL-1401H, pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic data, clinical data, or immunogenicity. (Results of a phase 3 study presented at ESMO 2016 Congress suggested MYL-1401H is equivalent to Neulasta.)
Biocon and Mylan said they do not expect the complete response letter for MYL-1401H to impact the commercial launch timing of the drug in the US. The companies said they are committed to working with the FDA to resolve the issues outlined in the letter.
