Versavo, a biosimilar to Roche’s Avastin (bevacizumab), is an angiogenesis monoclonal antibody (mAb) inhibitor targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) to prevent the growth of blood vessels.
The product, which is developed and manufactured by Dr Reddy’s biologic unit, is indicated for several types of cancer, including colorectal, lung, renal, cervical and breast cancer.
Avastin is a blockbuster drug for Roche with global sales of $6.8bn (€6.14bn) in 2018. Another biosimilar to Avastin was approved just last month, with Pfizer receiving approval for Zirabev by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July.
Sales of bevacizumab in India, including Avastin and 12 available biosimilars reached INR 223 Crore ($31m) in 2018, according to Ipsos.
Dr Reddy’s received regulatory approval to market Versavo in India earlier this year. With this launch, the company raises the number of its commercialized biosimilar products to six.
A spokesperson for Dr Reddy’s told us that the company is also gearing up for filings in other emerging markets, based on its “strong analytical data package.”