Zarzio® overtakes Neupogen® and Granocyte® to become most prescribed daily G-CSF in Europe

Holzkirchen, Germany, July 22, 2013 – Sandoz, the global leader in biosimilars, is pleased that Zarzio® (filgrastim) has become the first biosimilar to overtake both its reference product (Amgen’s Neupogen®) and European market leader (Chugai’s Granocyte®) and is now the most prescribed daily G-CSF in Europe and the #1 biosimilar daily G-CSF globally.

The success of Zarzio reflects the growing acceptance of biosimilars by stakeholders all over the world and affirms physician confidence in its proven safety and efficacy across oncology settings.

Since Sandoz began marketing Zarzio in 2009 it has been prescribed to more than 100,000 patients worldwide, has generated over 4 million patient exposure days of experience, and is marketed in more than 40 countries.  Importantly, the availability of Zarzio has rapidly expanded patient access to this essential biologic and facilitated overall growth in the use of filgrastim without increasing total costs to healthcare systems.

“The success of Zarzio affirms our biosimilars development approach which utilizes state-of-the-art analytical techniques, robust process development, and tailored clinical programs,” said Ameet Mallik, Sandoz’ Head of Biopharmaceuticals and Oncology Injectables. “Our focus on providing a high-quality product with value-added services at an affordable price has made the difference commercially as well.”

Sandoz is the pioneer and global leader in biosimilars with over 50% share of all biosimilars approved in the highly regulated markets of U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia. Our three biosimilars – each of which occupies the #1 biosimilar position in their respective categories – are sold in over 50 countries and have generated over 100 million patient exposure days in experience. Sandoz also has an unrivalled pipeline with a total of seven ongoing Phase III trials across five molecules – more than any other company in the industry.

SOURCE: Sandoz