Patent on remicade question.

[Poppysocks]

Does anyone know when the patent on this drug runs out? It's been around for 15+ years it should be way past time for generic drugs to come out.

I had an infusion recently at a hospital that cost 70k dollars. It's ridiculous. Remicade is a fine powder that is mixed with a saline solution and then given intravenously. I could seriously do this infusion MYSELF if I had to.

 

[ronroush7]

I don't know the answer but at one time I quit it because was so expensive.

 

[Clash]

Are you sure it was 70 thousand and not 7k? My son has had infusions while in hospital and I think they were about 5k.

A biosimilar has already been approved by the FDA, Inflectra.

Here's a link about it

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm494227.htm

 

[Poppysocks]

Total amount billed by healthcare professional: $71,674.99.

Yep. It was that much. And I had assumed "inflectra" was the remicade treatment in Europe. Is that supposed to be a competitor of remicade in the United States? I'll have to look into that.

 

[ronroush7]

Tagging Valleyangel

 

[FrozenGirl]

Not sure about the states but in Canada the patent has already run out and we have inflectra. There is a lot of uncertainty right now regarding switching patients but at the moment they have said patients on Remicade aren't allowed we to be forced to switch (by the pharmacy or insurance company). Also in Canada inflectra is NOT approved for IBD. It's approved for RA, etc but not IBD.

 

[emmaaaargh]

In the UK Remicade used to be known as simply infliximab, the nonproprietary name. Now in the EU two biosimilars, Remsima and Inflectra, have been approved, both with the active ingredient of infliximab, which makes referring to Remicade as just infliximab all the more confusing so I suppose they'll stop doing that I also read that the US FDA approved Inflectra in April of this year, but I've not seen anything on Remsima's approval. I think new patients in the UK are now started on one of the two biosimilars, though not those already receiving Remicade.

 

[Clash]

The bill should be broken down into line items that will tell you how much the remicade was.

A single dose of Remicade can cost from $1,300 to $2,500.

Source

It's charged by vial. If you get it in office, like your GIs IV lab, then it is cheaper than in hospital because they charge for nurse, outpatient service, doctor etc so your insurance is charged for all of that. Still, it shouldn't be 70,000.

So if that bill doesn't include you being admitted along with infusion, testing such as scopes, imaging etc. Then I would call and question it.

I'll tag my little penguin as she may know more about Inflectra, the biosimilar, and when it will be on the shelves.