Comparison between Filgrastim Biosimilar “Mochida” and Filgrastim in Malignant Lymphoma: A Prospective, Randomized Crossover Comparative Study

• Published in: Iryo Yakugaku (Japanese Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences) Vol. 41; no. 11; pp. 793 - 798
• Main Authors: Ohtsubo, Tatsuya, Nakagawa, Yukari, Fujita, Masaki, Ishida, Youko, Sawada, Shinji, Tomogane, Kanji, Fujita, Atsuo, Uoshima, Nobuhiko, Kobayashi, Yutaka, Mikami, Tadashi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese; English
• Published: Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences 10.11.2015
• Subjects: biosimilar; filgrastim; G-CSF; lymphoma
• ISSN: 1346-342X; 1882-1499
• DOI: 10.5649/jjphcs.41.793

The pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) bioequivalence between the filgrastim biosimilar “Mochida” and filgrastim have been confirmed in clinical pharmacology studies in healthy volunteers. In a phase III breast cancer clinical trial, patients were administered FEC therapy (fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide), but a comparison with filgrastim was not performed. Therefore, we conducted a prospective, randomized crossover comparative study of “Mochida” and filgrastim. The results of this study showed no significant difference in the mean duration of neutropenia, incidence of febrile neutropenia (FN), incidence of absolute neutrophil count (ANC) less than 1000, and mean duration of ANC nadir between the two drugs. Although there were only 16 patients in this study, “Mochida” showed no significant difference with filgrastim for efficacy, and it was suggested that “Mochida” is an effective drug for avoiding FN expression after chemotherapy. In addition, “Mochida” costs 54%-69% of the price for filgrastim. Thus, “Mochida” may contribute to maintaining quality of life.