Last Friday, Japanese company Mochida Pharmaceutical with Korean company LG Chem announced that it has received sales approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on its etanercept biosimilar (marketed by Amgen as ENBREL®) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. LG Chem has a sales contract with local company Mochida Pharmaceutical which plans to sell the drug jointly with a local rheumatoid arthritis specialty firm AYUMI Pharmaceutical.
