STAT Plus: Insulin makers object to FDA proposal for speeding arrival of biosimilar insulins
Amid growing rancor over the cost of insulin, two of the largest manufacturers are objecting to a Food and Drug Administration proposal designed to make it easier for other companies to develop lower-cost alternatives and, presumably, get these products to patients sooner. And their protests may open up the companies to still more criticism over their pricing.
At issue is a draft guidance the agency issued last November to eliminate the need for immunogenicity studies for biosimilar versions of insulin. Such studies are used to determine whether an immune response occurs in the body, but there has been a growing belief they are unnecessary. The European Medicines Agency, for instance, dispensed with such studies for biosimilar insulin in 2015.
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