The first plant for the manufacturing of biosimilar medicines will be launched in 2016 in Algeria, by Jordanian laboratory El Kendi, said Wednesday in Algiers, CEO of the laboratory Farouk Aissam.
"The laboratory El Kendi will launch in 2016 a biosimilars plant, the first one in Algeria which still doesn’t manufacture this class of molecules," said Aissam during a study day on biosimilars.
A biosimilar medicine is similar to a biological medicine of reference, which has been authorized on the market. Biosimilarity applies to any biological medicinal product whose patent has entered the public domain.
The biosimilar medicine must have physico-chemical and biological properties, the same pharmaceutical substance and the same pharmaceutical form as the medicinal product of reference. Its efficacy and safety must be equivalent to the medicine of reference.
For the CEO of El Kendi, the costs of the biotechnological medicines (mainly devoted to the treatment of cancer) "heavily weigh on the drug bill and the biosimilars will have direct impact of this bill."