Advertisement
U.S. markets close in 4 hours 53 minutes
  • S&P 500

    5,252.45
    +3.96 (+0.08%)
     
  • Dow 30

    39,743.65
    -16.43 (-0.04%)
     
  • Nasdaq

    16,397.77
    -1.76 (-0.01%)
     
  • Russell 2000

    2,128.25
    +13.90 (+0.66%)
     
  • Crude Oil

    82.59
    +1.24 (+1.52%)
     
  • Gold

    2,234.60
    +21.90 (+0.99%)
     
  • Silver

    24.93
    +0.18 (+0.74%)
     
  • EUR/USD

    1.0800
    -0.0029 (-0.27%)
     
  • 10-Yr Bond

    4.1980
    +0.0020 (+0.05%)
     
  • GBP/USD

    1.2631
    -0.0007 (-0.06%)
     
  • USD/JPY

    151.2760
    +0.0300 (+0.02%)
     
  • Bitcoin USD

    71,420.88
    +1,602.70 (+2.30%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     
  • FTSE 100

    7,972.85
    +40.87 (+0.52%)
     
  • Nikkei 225

    40,168.07
    -594.66 (-1.46%)
     

Novartis wins approval for first U.S. biosimilar drug

March 6 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators on Friday gave a green light to sales of the country's first copied version of a biotechnology drug, or "biosimilar," with approval of Novartis' white blood cell-boosting Zarxio.

The drug contains the same active ingredient as Neupogen, or filgrastim, which logged 2014 worldwide sales of $1.2 billion for manufacturer Amgen.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it approved Zarxio for treating the same five conditions for which Neupogen is used.

The move had been expected after Zarxio, which is made by Novartis' generics unit Sandoz, won unanimous backing from an FDA panel in January.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler. Editing by Jane Merriman)

Advertisement