AHFS/Drugs.com Monograph ATC code L03AA13 (WHO) | MedlinePlus a607058 Legal status US: ℞-only | |
Trade names originally Neulasta, other brand names worldwide Pregnancy
category US: C (Risk not ruled out) | ||
Pegfilgrastim is a PEGylated form of the recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (GCSF) analog filgrastim. It serves to stimulate the level of white blood cells (neutrophils).
Pegfilgrastim treatment can be used to stimulate bone marrow to produce more neutrophils to fight infection in patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Pegfilgrastim has a human half-life of 15 to 80 hours, much longer than the parent filgrastim (3–4 hours).
In the United States as of 2015 the branded form costs between $5,327 and $8,191 a dose.
Biosimilars
In July 2016 the US FDA rejected a biosimilar application from Sandoz.
In 2016 Coherus BioSciences is running clinical studies on its own pegfilgrastim biosimilar CHS-1701.
References
Pegfilgrastim Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA