Dr. Verma Discusses Biosimilars for Trastuzumab

Sunil Verma, MD, professor and head of the Department of Oncology at the University of Calgary, medical director of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre, discusses the potential role for trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilars.

In December 2017, the FDA approved MYL-1401O (Ogivri; trastuzumab-dkst), a biosimilar for trastuzumab. The indications in which this biosimilar was approved mirror that of trastuzumab, minus the metastatic gastric cancer indication, which Genentech holds an exclusive license for. The approval of MYL-1401O has started a conversation as to whether it can eventually replace the expensive reference biologic.

Verma says that in breast cancer, trastuzumab has and will remain the mainstay for patients with HER2-positive disease. It is not as simple as switching in MYL-1401O, as trastuzumab is often used as a dual-targeted approach in these patients. Verma says that more data are needed to justify using biosimilars in dual-targeted approaches before they can be incorporated into practice.