• In January 2023, the company had announced the successful completion of the full set of clinical studies of its proposed rituximab biosimilar candidate DRL_RI, with the intention to file in the United States, European Union and other regions

• Following dossier submission in April 2023, the regulatory agencies have now accepted the dossier for review

In January 2023, Dr. Reddy’s had announced the successful completion of the full set of clinical studies of its proposed rituximab biosimilar candidate, DRL_RI, for filing in highly regulated markets such as the United States, European Union, and other regions. The submission of its dossier in April 2023 was based on a comprehensive data package including robust structural and functional analytical comparison data using multiple orthogonal techniques, pre-clinical, and head-to-head clinical studies that demonstrate similarity in pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety, efficacy and immunogenicity with the EU* and U.S.** reference products.

DRL_RI is being developed as a biosimilar of Rituxan® / MabThera® (rituximab), a cluster of differentiation 20 (CD20) directed cytolytic antibody. Rituxan® / MabThera® is approved for various indications including for the treatment of adult patients with rheumatoid arthritis, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, pemphigus vulgaris, granulomatosis with polyangiitis and microscopic polyangiitis.

Dr. Jayanth Sridhar, Global Head of Biologics at Dr. Reddy’s, said: “This milestone underscores our capability for global clinical development of high-quality biosimilar products for highly regulated and global markets. It also reinforces the potential of DRL_RI as a safe and effective treatment option for patients across the globe. Development and commercialisation of biological drugs is an important growth lever for our business. We expect to bring many more biosimilar and other critical biological products to meet patient needs as we work towards our goal of serving over 1.5 billion patients by 2030.”

Dr. Reddy’s rituximab biosimilar has already been approved for marketing in India and over 25 emerging markets. The company is currently collaborating with its partner Fresenius Kabi, a global health care company that specializes in biopharmaceuticals, clinical nutrition, medical technologies, and I.V. generic drugs for critical and chronic conditions, to commercialise its proposed biosimilar of rituximab in the United States. The company intends to commercialise the product in Europe and other geographies directly.

Dr. Reddy’s clinical studies for its proposed biosimilar of rituximab, DRL_RI:

1. RI-01-003: This study demonstrated pharmacokinetic equivalence and similarity in pharmacodynamics, safety and immunogenicity between DRL_RI and EU reference medicinal product* and U.S. reference product**.
2. RI-01-006 (FLINTER): This study demonstrated efficacy equivalence and similarity in safety and immunogenicity between DRL_RI and EU reference medicinal product* in patients with Low Tumour Burden Follicular Lymphoma
3. RI-01-007: This study demonstrated similar safety and immunogenicity profile between the DRL_RI, EU reference medicinal product* and U.S. reference product** groups upon single transition from either of them, in subjects with active rheumatoid arthritis.

*EU reference medicinal product is MabThera®
**U.S. reference product is Rituxan®
MabThera® and Rituxan® are registered trademarks of Roche.