Sandoz’s partnership with Polpharma to bring a US biosimilar to Tysabri to the US would make it “ultimately the closest I will ever get to an originator launch in my career,” according to Sandoz CEO Richard Francis. However, the launch has hit a roadblock in the form of a necessary assay approval for a virus that can trigger a potentially life-threatening brain disease.

Halozyme’s Enhanze technology has now brought seven monoclonal antibodies, including Ocrevus and Tecentriq, from IV to subcutaneous delivery, but Alteogen and other high-concentration formulation players hope to join the party as Medicare pricing issues help drive interest.

“I’ve never launched a drug quite like this,” Sandoz’s CEO Richard Saynor has admitted frankly, as the firm spoke about its plans to launch GLP-1 assets in the future, starting with semaglutide in markets including Canada and Brazil as early as 2026.

Sandoz’s Strategic Review 2024 event gave the firm the chance to speak at length about its aspirations in the development of highly complex antibody-drug-conjugates, as well as the opportunity to build on its strong analytical characterization and regulatory experience in biosimilars and peptide development to offer oligonucleotides.