Seoul

MERCK & CO and South Korea's Samsung Bioepis Co Ltd said on Monday that they have begun selling a less expensive alternative version of Johnson & Johnson's rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade in the United States, a move that should accelerate price declines for the big-selling medicine.

The US and South Korean drugmakers said that they would sell their version, to be called Renflexis, at 35 per cent discount to the list price of J&J's top-selling medicine, or about US$735 for a 100 mg dose.