Celltrion eyes biosim Remicade launch in the U.S. this year

Celltrion marketing CEO Stanley Hong has set his sights on shipping a less expensive version of rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade to the U.S. in the third quarter, pending approval from the FDA. It could become the second big threat to a U.S. biologic blockbuster, after Novartis ($NVS) won approval for its Neupogen biosim last month. In February, the U.S. Patent Office rejected a patent that would have protected Remicade until 2018. Report