3/8/2016
`
`www.specia|typharmacycontinuum .com/Article/PrintArtic|e?artic|e|D=33101
`
`Specialty PharmacQ»
`Continuum
`
`Web Only
`
`JULY 22, 2015
`
`Glatopa Is Strong Out of the Gate
`
`By Gina Shaw
`
`Two weeks after launch, Sandoz’s new Copaxone generic, Glatopa (glatiramer acetate), had
`
`already been prescribed 472 times, according to IMS Health data reported by
`
`FiercePharmaMarketing.
`
`Glatopa, the first FDA-approved generic version of Copaxone 20 mg, began shipping to
`
`patients and pharmacies on June 18. FiercePharrna compared the rapid uptake of the multiple
`
`sclerosis (MS) drug to the 2013 launch of another MS drug, Biogen’s Tecfidera (dimethyl
`
`fumarate), which brought in $1.38 billion in sales in its first four quarters.
`
`“We are seeing strong demand from wholesalers and are also closely tracking patient access,’
`
`Sandoz vice president of communications Leslie Pott told Specialty Pharmacy Continuum.
`
`“Early market data confirms a strong initial uptake of Glatopa but it is still too early to share
`
`any meaningful metrics such as customer buying habits over time or patient uptake patterns.”
`
`9
`
`ADVERTISEMENT
`
`Two weeks, however, is a fairly limited data set, and some MS specialists say they aren’t
`
`prescribing Glatopa at all. “We have actually not put anyone on it yet,” Ben Thrower, MD,
`
`the medical director of the MS Institute at Atlanta’s Shepherd Center, a leading rehabilitation
`
`hospital, told Specialty Pharmacy Continuum. “We’re always excited to see any new tool in
`
`the MS toolbox, but with anything new, you have to look at the risks and benefits.”
`
`Dr. Thrower said he was cautious given the lack of direct clinical data for Glatopa. “All we
`
`have is laboratory and molecular analyses showing that it’s a biosimilar,” he said. Sandoz,
`
`through Novartis, really only did the laboratory studies, and that’s a concern that I have.”
`
`Ms. Pott said the first patients treated with Glatopa have been managed through the Sandoz
`
`patient support services center hub, GlatopaCare. The hub includes the following services: a
`
`co-pay program for eligible patients, insurance and benefits investigation, and personalized
`MYLAN PHARMS. INC. EXHIBIT 1124 PAGE 1
`http://www.specia|typharmacyconti nuum .com/Article/Pri ntArti c|e?artic|e|D= 33101
`
`1/2
`
`MYLAN PHARMS. INC. EXHIBIT 1124 PAGE 1
`
`

`
`3/8/2016
`
`www.specia|typharmacycontinuum .com/Article/PrintArtic|e?artic|e|D=33101
`
`injection training for patients, among others, she noted.
`
`Asked about this comparison, Ms. Pott said, “because Glatopa is not interchangeable with
`
`glatiramer acetate 40 mg per mL, we are not competing in this space.”
`
`Dr. Thrower noted that Glatopa’s average wholesale price is more expensive than the recently
`
`launched, longer-acting Copaxone 40 mg, at $6,492 versus $6,009, respectively. “I like the 40
`
`mg Copaxone both from the standpoint of having the fewest injections and being the least
`
`costly, and wanting to keep patients on a well-known product that’s been around for a bit.”
`
`“We always welcome new drugs to treat our patients, but I’m just not sure if we’re going to
`
`be using it at this point,” Dr. Thrower concluded. “Although if some patients have elected to
`
`stay on the name-brand 20-mg Copaxone and not switch to the 40 mg [formulation], some
`
`third-party payers may give them a gent1e—or not so gent1e—nudge to move to the G1atopa.”
`
`MYLAN PHARMS. INC. EXHIBIT 1124 PAGE 2
`http://www.specia|typharmacycontinuum.com/ArticlelPrintArtic|e?artic|e|D=33101
`
`2/2
`
`MYLAN PHARMS. INC. EXHIBIT 1124 PAGE 2