Biosimilars of Rituxan, MabThera, Herceptin and Erbitux will Erode $8.2 Billion in...

Biosimilars of Rituxan, MabThera, Herceptin and Erbitux will Erode $8.2
Billion in U.S. and European Sales in 2018
Physicians Are Expected to Demand Clinical Data for Biosimilars in Oncology
Demonstrating Equivalence in Multiple Subpopulations

WALTHAM, Mass., Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Decision Resources, one of the
world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare
issues, forecasts that U.S. and European (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and
U.K.) sales of Roche/Biogen Idec's Rituxan/MabThera, Bristol-Myers
Squibb/Merck's Erbitux and Roche's Herceptin will peak at almost $16 billion
in 2014, before falling to roughly $10 billion in 2018. Biosimilars of these
three branded agents are forecasted to erode $8.2 billion in U.S. and European
sales in 2018 but they are expected to capture only $4.6 billion in sales due
to their lower prices.

"Biosimilars of the five brands covered in this report (Rituxan/MabThera,
Erbitux, Herceptin, Amgen's Neupogen and Neulasta) will erode $34.3 billion in
brand sales during our 2008-2018 forecast period across the U.S. and Europe
and save health care systems $17.3 billion in the process," stated Michael
Malecki, Ph.D., analyst and product manager at Decision Resources.

The new special report entitled Biosimilars: G-CSFs and Monoclonal Antibodies
in Oncology also finds that oncologists are expected to demand clinical data
for biosimilars demonstrating equivalence in multiple subpopulations. That is,
although a biosimilar may be labeled for use in multiple subpopulations,
oncologists will not feel comfortable prescribing a biosimilar without
clinical validation.

Over time, oncologists are expected to become more comfortable using
biosimilars in subpopulations and/or indications for which the reference
product is approved but not clinically validated. In order to slow the growth
of physician comfort in this regard, makers of branded biologics should
emphasize the proven efficacy records of their agents and the importance of
using a fully validated therapy for patients with life-threatening disease.

"Although surveyed oncologists are the most aggressive in treating cancers,
they are hesitant to prescribe a biosimilar if it has not been clinically
studied for the indication they are treating, even if the biosimilar is
labeled for the indication in question," added Dr. Malecki.

Decision Resources expands the scope and analysis of its biosimilars product
line to include oncology, immune and infectious disease and
endocrinology/nephrology in three separate reports. The new report series
covers 22 key biologic brands from eight biologic classes and include surveys
of 456 U.S. and European physicians and 41 managed care organization pharmacy
and medical directors.

Webinar
Members of the media are welcome to attend our upcoming webinar entitled
Biosimilars in Oncology: A Potential $25 Billion in Lost Revenue. This webinar
will be held on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time. For
more information, please contact Gisselle Morales at 781-296-2691 or by email
at gmorales@dresources.com.

About Decision Resources
Decision Resources (www.decisionresources.com) is a world leader in market
research publications, advisory services and consulting designed to help
clients shape strategy, allocate resources and master their chosen markets.
Decision Resources is a Decision Resources, Inc. company.

About Decision Resources, Inc.
Decision Resources, Inc. is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers
best-in-class, high-value information and insights on important sectors of the
healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed
decisions. Please visit Decision Resources, Inc. at
www.DecisionResourcesInc.com.

All company, brand or product names contained in this document may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

For more information, contact:

Decision Resources Decision Resources, Inc.
Christopher Comfort Elizabeth Marshall
781-296-2597 781-296-2563
ccomfort@dresources.com emarshall@dresources.com

SOURCE Decision Resources

Christopher Comfort of Decision Resources, +1-781-296-2597,
ccomfort@dresources.com, or Elizabeth Marshall of Decision Resources, Inc.,
+1-781-296-2563, emarshall@dresources.com