US Food and Drug Administration approval of generic versions of complex biologics: implications for the practicing physician using low molecular weight heparins

Low-molecular-weight heparins (LMWHs) have shown equivalent or superior efficacy and safety to unfractionated heparin as antithrombotic therapy for patients with acute coronary syndromes. Each approved LMWH is a pleotropic biological agent with a unique chemical, biochemical, biophysical and biological profile and displays different pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic profiles. As a result, LMWHs are neither equipotent in preclinical assays nor equivalent in terms of their clinical efficacy and safety. Previously, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautioned against using various LMWHs interchangeably, however recently, the FDA approved generic versions of LMWH that have not been tested in large clinical trials. This paper highlights the bio-chemical and pharmacological differences between the LMWH preparations that may result in different clinical outcomes, and also reviews the implications and challenges physicians face when generic versions of the original/innovator agents are approved for clinical use.

Sanofi

Sanofi

Johnson Johnson

Johnson Johnson

Bristol-Myers Squibb

BristolMyers Squibb

AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca

Bayer

Bayer

Daiichi Sankyo

Daiichi Sankyo

Eli Lilly Co.

Eli Lilly Co.

GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline

Merck

Merck

Pfizer

Pfizer

Guerbet

Guerbet