3 September 2015 - Novartis kicked off a new era in U.S. medicine on Thursday with the launch of the first "biosimilar" copy of a biotechnology drug approved in the United States, at a discount of 15 percent to the original.

The Swiss drugmaker's generics unit Sandoz said Zarxio, its form of Amgen's white blood cell-boosting product Neupogen, would increase access to an important treatment by offering a "high-quality, more affordable version".

U.S. biotech group Amgen had tried to stop the sale of Zarxio, also known as filgrastim-sndz, but the Washington-based appeals court rejected its attempt to block the launch.

The potential for copycats to take business from original biotech drug brands is increasingly grabbing investors' attention, although uncertainties remain as to how quickly so-called biosimilars will win business.

For more details, go to: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/03/us-novartis-drug-idUSKCN0R30C220150903