Biotech Drugs Still Won't Copy

Much anticipated knockoff versions of costly biotech medicines are facing delays and obstacles that could cost patients and health systems billions in missed savings.

Several high-profile projects to create so-called biosimilar drugs have faltered in recent months. Merck & Co. dissolved a dedicated biosimilar unit last year and in December retreated from a plan to copy arthritis treatment Enbrel after maker Amgen Inc. gained a new patent. Last fall, Samsung Electronics Co.'s biosimilar unit suspended trials for a version of the cancer drug Rituxan, and generic-drug maker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. halted its own Rituxan push.

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Source: The Wall Street Journal