SYDNEY, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Biopharmaceutical company NeuClone has announced positive preclinical results of its biosimilar to Johnson & Johnson's Stelara®, including 3-dimensional (3-D) structure confirmation through X-ray crystallography analysis.
X-ray crystallography analysis confirms identity and equal structural integrity of NeuClone's biosimilar and the reference product Stelara®, in both primary amino acid sequence and 3-D folding (structure).
Stelara® is a monoclonal antibody that targets both interleukin-12 and -23 and is currently approved to treat various diseases including plaque psoriasis and Crohn's disease.
Dr Noelle Sunstrom, CEO of NeuClone, stated: "These results demonstrate our ability to create biosimilars using our Right from the Start® approach to biosimilarity, confirming each NeuClone product is indistinguishable from its originator at every stage of development. We develop crystals, functional cell-based assays and other tier 1 biosimilarity tests all in the same facility, allowing us to select the right candidate to go into the clinic."
NeuClone's Stelara® biosimilar is co-developed with Serum Institute of India and is currently in process scale up to support planned Phase I clinical trials in 2019. This will be the company's second product to enter clinical studies in Australia following its first product, a biosimilar of Roche / Genentech's Herceptin®.
In comparison to reference monoclonal antibody products, biosimilar approval requires more extensive analytical data packages to demonstrate structural and functional characterisation of the biosimilar candidate. Analytical studies, such as X-ray crystallography, provide the foundations for determining biosimilarity.
In 2017, Stelara® achieved global sales of USD 4.0 billion. EvaluatePharma has forecast global sales of Stelara® to reach USD 4.9 billion in 2022.
NeuClone representatives will attend the upcoming 2018 BIO International Convention in Boston from 4-7th June 2018and look forward to meeting potential commercialisation partners.
Stelara® is marketed by Janssen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.
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