Premier, Inc. And Oncobiologics Align To Advance Adoption Of Biosimilar Drugs

Collaboration focused on navigating biosimilar market complexities using real-world evidence, with goal of reducing costs through increased adoption and competition

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC), a leading healthcare improvement company, and Oncobiologics, Inc., a clinical-stage U.S. developer and manufacturer of biosimilar pharmaceuticals, are working together to accelerate the industry’s understanding of high-quality, cost-efficient biosimilars and advance the adoption of these complex drugs.

“Oncobiologics’ primary goal is to efficiently provide high-quality, commercially attractive biosimilars to providers and patients. This collaboration with Premier will allow us to leverage real-world evidence to better understand the needs of health systems and the patients they serve as we work to develop treatments that can increase care value.”

In addition, Oncobiologics has entered into an agreement with Premier’s real-world research and analytics division, Premier Research Services, to leverage the scale, expertise, and integrated quality and cost information across Premier’s alliance of approximately 3,600 U.S. hospitals. Premier and Oncobiologics will also conduct analyses to advise Oncobiologics’ decision making regarding market dynamics.

Biosimilars – also known as follow-on biologics – are innovative treatments for chronic and sometimes life-threatening diseases, such as cancer, HIV and rheumatoid arthritis. Comprised of complex molecules made from living organisms, biosimilars can increase the number of options available to patients while offering billions of dollars in overall industry savings when compared to the cost of their biologic parent drugs, which often carry price tags from $30,000 up to $1 million over the course of treatment. According to research, biologic and other specialty drugs are projected to account for 50 percent of total U.S. drug expenditures by 2018 even though just 1 to 3 percent of the population uses these therapies.

“The high cost of biologics is having a profound effect on patients and providers alike,” said Premier COO Michael J. Alkire. “Premier believes in the power of competition as the best means to bring down prices while preserving a healthy market, and biosimilars present a key pathway to do just that. However, providers need a better understanding of these new products before they can begin prescribing them to patients. We look forward to collaborating with Oncobiologics and our members to develop best practices around the optimal use of these cost-effective treatments.”

According to Oncobiologics CEO Pankaj Mohan, Ph.D., “Oncobiologics’ primary goal is to efficiently provide high-quality, commercially attractive biosimilars to providers and patients. This collaboration with Premier will allow us to leverage real-world evidence to better understand the needs of health systems and the patients they serve as we work to develop treatments that can increase care value.”

The organizations will also work closely to inform providers, prescribers and the public sector on complexities involved in bringing biosimilar drugs to market.

Legislation in the Affordable Care Act allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve follow-on biologics demonstrated to be “biosimilar” to or “interchangeable” with an FDA-licensed biological product.

“Premier has a long history of working with both the private and public sectors to promote solutions that address drug pricing and shortages,” Alkire said. “Getting the policy right is a critical first step to unleash the potential of biosimilars to improve everyday quality of life and save lives.”

The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

About Oncobiologics, Inc. and its BioSymphony™ Platform

Oncobiologics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing, manufacturing and commercializing complex biosimilar therapeutics. Its current focus is on technically challenging and commercially attractive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) in the disease areas of immunology and oncology. Oncobiologics is advancing its pipeline of eight biosimilar products, two of which are currently in clinical development. Led by a team of biopharmaceutical experts, Oncobiologics operates from in-house state-of-the-art fully integrated research and development, and manufacturing facility in Cranbury, New Jersey. Oncobiologics employs its BioSymphony™ Platform to address the challenges of biosimilar development and commercialization by developing high quality mAb biosimilars in an efficient and cost-effective manner on an accelerated timeline. For more information, please visit www.oncobiologics.com.

Premier, Inc.

Premier, Inc. (NASDAQ: PINC) is a leading healthcare improvement company, uniting an alliance of approximately 3,600 U.S. hospitals and 120,000 other providers to transform healthcare. With integrated data and analytics, collaboratives, supply chain solutions, and advisory and other services, Premier enables better care and outcomes at a lower cost. Premier, a Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipient, plays a critical role in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, collaborating with members to co-develop long-term innovations that reinvent and improve the way care is delivered to patients nationwide. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is passionate about transforming American healthcare. Please visit Premier’s news and investor sites on www.premierinc.com; as well as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, Foursquare and Premier’s blog for more information about the company.

Contacts

Premier, Inc.
Morgan Guthrie, 704-816-4152, morgan_guthrie@premierinc.com

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