Policy

Two Biogen officials make the case for getting anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) biosimilars into wider play.

Express Scripts, the country's largest pharmacy benefit manager, has reshuffled its preferred formulary list for 2021, giving preference to fewer pegfilgrastim products than in 2020.

After receiving regulatory approval in June, Sandoz launched 2 of its biosimilars on the Canadian market.

US administrative and legislative efforts are moving the United States and Germany more into alignment on drug cost management philosophy, according to a review.

Employers could save thousands of dollars by promoting the use of biosimilars that will keep employees with rheumatoid arthritis from having to file for disability, according to Brian Gifford, PhD, research director of the Integrated Benefits Institute.

A Pacific Research Institute economist says that by his scorecard, biosimilars are not supercharging the market the way they ought to be doing .

We sat down with Carter Thorne, MD, FRCPC, former president of the Canadian Rheumatology Association and chief of the Division of Rheumatology and director of The Arthritis Program at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario, to discuss the current status of Canada’s comfort level with biosimilars and what he sees for the future of switching policies.

There has been an outpouring of advocacy tugging biosimilars into the marketplace, and market share of these lower-cost drugs has increased.

Allowing pharmacists to independently fill prescriptions with biosimilars can offer community oncology practices a way to cut costs and increase access to cancer care for patients, according to Lucy Langer, MD.

Defining biosimilar use in the United States as "sluggish," Juliana Reed, MS, said employers have to get involved.

Nancy J. Globus, PharmD, vice president of Regulatory Affairs at the Accreditation Council for Medical Affairs (ACMA), discusses the truth behind 4-letter suffixes and product confusion among physicians and pharmacists.

Dismayed at the low biosimilar uptake and the lost savings, large employers are taking matters into their own hands.

Pharmacy experts discuss their level of confidence with biosimilars and some of the hurdles that stand in the way of optimizing these lower-cost medicines.

Investigators set out to learn whether the imposition of out-of-pocket spending caps on specialty drugs would unleash a wave of drug spending and prompt payer policy change.

Biosimilars have improved access to health care in India, but many effective new drugs are high priced and patented, and authors of a new study recommend interventions to make these available, too.

An oncology practice administrator describes the careful calculus involved in balancing patient needs with the business side of biosimilars and cancer care.

The Center for Biosimilars® spoke with Kashyap B. Patel, MD, about his work in promoting biosimilar uptake and his upcoming book on the importance of living life and not fearing death.

Biologics are not cheap, and if you can get biosimilars into the hands of patients, you’ve got something going. A strategist describes the step-by-step process that made this possible at Kaiser Permanente.

Although more advanced than in the United States, biosimilars markets in Europe may discourage competition over the long term, said officials from Medicines for Europe.

The Center for Biosimilars® (CfB) spoke with Adrian van den Hoven, director general of Medicines for Europe, and Diogo Piedade, market access manager for Medicines for Europe, about their scorecard report for biosimilar access in European markets.

President Trump signed 4 executive orders that would lower prices of prescriptions medications including insulin products and cancer medicines.

In a webinar this week, experts discussed the business dynamics that prevent providers from being able to choose the lowest-cost biosimilars.

An upcoming webinar from MJH Life Sciences™ will address the payer rebate deals that limit provider choice of biosimilars and complicate clinical pharmacy operations.

The House Appropriations Committee has called upon CMS to increase access to biosimilars.

Wayne Winegarden, PhD, director of the Center for Medical Economics and Innovation, explains that misaligned incentives are preventing the United States from realizing full benefit from biosimilars.

A new scorecard system developed by IQVIA rates the health and sustainability of biosimilars markets across Europe.

Christine Simmon, executive director of the Biosimilars Council and senior vice president of policy and strategic alliances at the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) discussed the new pathway for insulin biosimilars and the struggles between payers and providers over biosimilar choice.

In response to pharmaceutical supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a panel of experts called for big changes; attention to detail is key to making sure the outcomes are successful.

Following in the footsteps of British Columbia, other Canadian provinces are working to implement their own biosimilars initiatives that would switch patients from some of the most costly reference biologics to biosimilar counterparts.

Ted Mathias and Stacie Ropka, PhD, both patent attorneys and partners at Axinn, Veltrop and Harkrider LLP, discuss patent exclusivity for biological drugs and other important issues that need to be addressed whether or not the ACA and the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) are ruled invalid.