Dear editor
Having read the original Hoggatt et al articleCitation1 and the corrigendum published online on August 27, 2015,Citation2 we do not consider the description of lipegfilgrastim to be entirely accurate, and we would therefore like to clarify what lipegfilgrastim actually is.
The description of lipegfilgrastim used in the original article was a “long-acting biosimilar filgrastim”.Citation1 This description was subsequently amended in the corrigendum to “lipegfilgrastim has an active substance that is similar to filgrastim, with similar pharmacokinetics, receptor binding affinity, safety and efficacy as pegfilgrastim”.Citation2
It is true that lipegfilgrastim is not a long-acting biosimilar of filgrastim. It is not approved under the biosimilar classification by the European Medicines Agency, and has its own distinct Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) code (ATC code L03AA14, lipegfilgrastim; ATC code L03AA02, filgrastim; ATC code L03AA13, pegfilgrastim).Citation3 Further, we believe lipegfilgrastim would be more accurately described as “glycopegylated, long-acting form of recombinant human filgrastim”.
Furthermore, the original article does not give the correct indications for either filgrastim or lipegfilgrastim (eg, pages 2,648 and 2,649).Citation1 In August 2013, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved lipegfilgrastim to be used for reducing the duration of neutropenia and the incidence of febrile neutropenia in adult patients treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy for malignancy (with the exception of chronic myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes).Citation4 Lipegfilgrastim is currently marketed throughout Europe with this indication.
Disclosure
Both authors are employees of Teva Pharmaceuticals Europe BV. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this communication.
References
- HoggattJTateTAPelusLMRole of lipegfilgrastim in the management of chemotherapy-induced neutropeniaInt J Nanomedicine2015102647265225878498
- HoggattJTateTAPelusLMRole of lipegfilgrastim in the management of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia [corrigendum]Int J Nanomedicine201510542126345514
- European Commission [webpage on the Internet]Full human ATC code listEuropean Commission2015 Available from: http://ec.europa.eu/health/documents/community-register/html/atc.htmAccessed 15 September 2015
- Electronic Medicines Compendium (eMC) [webpage on the Internet]Lonquex®: summary of product characteristicsElectronic Medicines Compendium (eMC)2015 Available from: https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/28948Accessed 15 September 2015