US "biosimilars" bill not a priority

Despite efforts by the US biotechnology industry for legislation to be enacted for a "biosimilar" or generic biotechnology-based drug pathway, this is not even a priority for the key committee, according to Washington DC-based analysts at broker Lehman Brothers.

In a conference call hosted by the broker with James Greenwood, the chief executive of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the latter indicated that the industry is pushing to get a bill before this year's elections.

Lehman's Antonios Clapsis stated in a note to clients: "we believe this is a smart strategy for biotech, largely as the Senate approach provides a longer period of data exclusivity than we would have thought achievable."