FDA Approves Hadlima (adalimumab-bwwd), a Biosimilar to Humira

Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Hadlima (adalimumab-bwwd), a biosimilar referencing Humira (adalimumab)i, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, adult Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and plaque psoriasis. Please see full indications and Boxed Warning for Hadlima, below.
 
Hadlima is Samsung Bioepis’ third anti-TNF biosimilar approved for marketing in the United States (US). Hadlima is also Samsung Bioepis’ fourth biosimilar approved in the U.S., following the approval of Renflexis (infliximab-abda) in April 2017, Ontruzant (trastuzumab-dttb) in January 2019, and Eticovo (etanercept-ykro) in April 2019.
 
"With the approval of Hadlima, we are proud to have three anti-TNF biosimilars approved in the U.S. We believe the US healthcare system can benefit from biosimilars which could play a critical role in broadening access to treatment options for patients with autoimmune conditions across the country," said Hee Kyung Kim, Senior Vice President and Head of Regulatory Affairs, Samsung Bioepis. "We remain committed to advancing our strong pipeline of biosimilar candidates, so that more patients and healthcare systems can benefit from biosimilars."
 
In addition to the U.S., Samsung Bioepis’ adalimumab biosimilar has been approved for marketing in over 30 countries, including 28 European Union (EU) member states, Canada, Australia and Korea.
 
Hadlima will be commercialized in the U.S. by Merck, also known as MSD outside of the US and Canada. Hadlima is expected to launch in the U.S. after June 30, 2023, in accordance with a licensing agreement signed with AbbVie Inc.
 The FDA approval was based on data derived from a randomized, double-blind 52-week Phase 3 study, in which 544 patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis despite methotrexate (MTX) therapy were randomized to receive either Hadlima or the adalimumab reference product (ADL). At Week 24, the ACR20 response rate was 72.4% in the Hadlima group versus 72.2% in the ADL group. The safety profile of Hadlima was comparable to ADL up to Week 24. At Week 24, 254 patients receiving ADL were re-randomized in a 1:1 ratio to continue on ADL or transition to Hadlima, and 254 patients receiving Hadlima continued to receive Hadlima. Up to Week 52, the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity profiles remained comparable between all three treatment groups. There were no treatment emergent issues or clinically relevant immunogenicity precipitated by alternating subjects between treatments.

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