Amneal launches second biosimilar with releuko® (filgrastim-ayow) in the united states
Bridgewater, n.j.--(business wire)--amneal pharmaceuticals, inc. (nyse: amrx) (“amneal” or the “company”) today announced the commercial launch of releuko® (filgrastim-ayow), a biosimilar referencing neupogen®. releuko® is used to treat neutropenia which is commonly experienced by patients undergoing chemotherapy. this product was developed in collaboration with kashiv biosciences, llc located in chicago, illinois. “releuko is our second u.s. biosimilar launch and represents the next step in building out our biosimilars business. this product is another important oncology therapeutic offering for providers and their patients as we look to make essential medicines more accessible for all,” said harsher singh, svp of amneal biosciences division. according to iqvia®, u.s. annual sales for filgrastim for the 12 months ended august 2022 were $390 million, of which $272 million represented biosimilar sales. about releuko releuko® in the u.s. is indicated: to decrease the incidence of infection‚ as manifested by febrile neutropenia‚ in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anti- cancer drugs associated with a significant incidence of severe neutropenia with fever. to reduce the time to neutrophil recovery and the duration of fever, following induction or consolidation chemotherapy treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (aml). to reduce the duration of neutropenia and neutropenia-related clinical sequelae‚ e.g., febrile neutropenia, in patients with nonmyeloid malignancies undergoing myeloablative chemotherapy followed by bone marrow transplantation (bmt). to reduce the incidence and duration of sequelae of severe neutropenia‚ (e.g., fever‚ infections‚ oropharyngeal ulcers) in symptomatic patients with congenital neutropenia‚ cyclic neutropenia‚ or idiopathic neutropenia. important safety information patients with a history of serious allergic reactions to human granulocyte colony-stimulating factors such as filgrastim products or pegfilgrastim products. before you take releuko®, tell your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan to breast feed, and if you have sickle cell disorder, kidney problems or receiving radiation therapy. warnings and precautions fatal splenic rupture: patients may experience enlarged spleen which can rupture and cause death. acute respiratory distress syndrome (ards): patients may develop fever and lung infiltrates or respiratory distress for ards. discontinue releuko® in patients with ards. fatal sickle cell crises: serious sickle cell crises have been reported in patients with sickle cell disorders receiving releuko®. discontinue releuko® if sickle cell crisis occurs. serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis: permanently discontinue releuko® in patients with serious allergic reactions. kidney injury (glomerulonephritis): kidney injury have been reported in patients on releuko®. consider dose-reduction or interruption of releuko® in patients with kidney injury. myelodysplastic syndrome (mds) and acute myeloid leukemia (aml): monitor patients with breast and lung cancer using releuko® in conjunction with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy for signs and symptoms of mds/aml. decreased platelet count (thrombocytopenia); increased white blood cell count (leukocytosis) and inflammation of your blood vessels (cutaneous vasculitis) have been reported. monitor platelet counts and white blood cell count. adverse reactions most common adverse reactions in patients: with nonmyeloid malignancies receiving myelosuppressive anti-cancer drugs are pyrexia, pain, rash, cough, and dyspnea. with aml are pain, epistaxis and rash. with nonmyeloid malignancies undergoing myeloablative chemotherapy followed by bone marrow transplant is rash. with severe chronic neutropenia are pain, anemia, epistaxis, diarrhea, hypoesthesia and alopecia. for full prescribing information, see package insert located here. about amneal amneal pharmaceuticals, inc. (nyse: amrx), headquartered in bridgewater, nj, is a fully integrated essential medicines company. we make healthy possible through the development, manufacturing, and distribution of generic and specialty pharmaceuticals, primarily within the united states. the company has a diverse portfolio of over 250 products in its generics segment and is expanding across a broad range of complex products and therapeutic areas, including injectables and biosimilars. in its specialty segment, amneal has a growing portfolio of branded pharmaceutical products focused primarily on central nervous system and endocrine disorders, with a pipeline focused on unmet needs. through its avkare segment, the company is a distributor of pharmaceuticals and other products for the u.s. federal government, retail, and institutional markets. for more, please visit www.amneal.com. cautionary statement on forward-looking statements certain statements contained herein, regarding matters that are not historical facts, may be forward-looking statements (as defined in the u.s. private securities litigation reform act of 1995). such forward-looking statements include statements regarding management’s intentions, plans, beliefs, expectations or forecasts for the future, including among other things: discussions of future operations; 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our ability to obtain exclusive marketing rights for our products; our substantial amount of indebtedness and our ability to generate sufficient cash to service our indebtedness in the future, and the impact of interest rate fluctuations on such indebtedness; our ability to manage our growth through acquisitions and otherwise; our dependence on the sales of a limited number of products for a substantial portion of our total revenues; the continuing trend of consolidation of certain customer groups; our dependence on third-party suppliers and distributors for raw materials for our products and certain finished goods and any associated supply chain disruptions; existing and future legal proceedings, the outcome of which are uncertain and may divert management resources and require us to incur substantial defense or settlement payments and costs; legal, regulatory and legislative efforts by our brand competitors to deter competition from our generic alternatives; the impact of severe weather; 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our ability to identify, make and integrate acquisitions or investments in complementary businesses and products on advantageous terms; our obligations under a tax receivable agreement may be significant; and the high concentration of ownership of our class a common stock and the fact that we are controlled by the amneal group. the forward-looking statements contained herein are also subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from time to time in the company’s filings with the securities and exchange commission, including under item 1a, “risk factors” in the company’s most recent annual report on form 10-k and in its subsequent reports on forms 10-q and 8-k. investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. forward-looking statements included herein speak only as of the date hereof and we undertake no obligation to revise or update such statements to reflect the occurrence of events or circumstances after the date hereof.
