A cheaper twin for a $6 billion medicine: Biocon's biosimilar clears nine more countries

For people living with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, plaque psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, the medicine Stelara can be life-changing — and expensive, with about $6.08 billion in worldwide sales last year. India's Biocon has now signed a licence with Janssen that gives its biosimilar version, Yesintek, immediate market entry in nine more markets: Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, Kazakhstan and Israel, adding to earlier deals for the USA, Europe, the UK, Canada and Japan. Biosimilars are close copies of complex biological medicines, and their whole point is price: the same treatment, within reach of more patients.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: market force