Pfizer Receives FDA Approval For Cheaper Version Of Johnson & Johnson's Top Drug Remicade

Pfizer Inc. PFE announced after Tuesday's market close that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved INFLECTRA, the first and only biosimilar monoclonal antibody therapy, and only the second biosimilar to be approved in the U.S. INFLECTRA is a treatment indicated for reducing signs and symptoms in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, adult ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and adult and pediatric Crohn's disease. Inflectra is manufactured by Celltrion. Hospira, now a Pfizer company, partnered with Celltrion for several potential biosimilar products. As such, Pfizer holds exclusive commercialization rights to Inflectra in the U.S. and other regions. According to Medical Xpress, Pfizer's INFLECTRA is a cheaper version of Johnson & Johnson JNJ's Remicade. In fact, Remicade is Johnson & Johnson's top-selling medicine with sales of $6.56 billion last year. "Our experience in other markets across the globe demonstrates that biosimilars can be a welcome option for patients, physicians and others," said Jenny Alltoft, head of global biosimilars, Pfizer Inc. "Pfizer is proud to play a leading role in preparing the U.S. market for biosimilars. We are committed to bringing these important medicines to patients in the U.S. as quickly as possible. While launch timing for INFLECTRA will ultimately depend on a number of factors such as marketplace dynamics and intellectual property considerations, we are continuing with the preparation of our launch plans for 2016." Shares of Pfizer were trading higher by more than 2.50 percent Wednesday morning while Johnson & Johnson's stock were nearly flat.