February 5th 2025
Of the 118 biologics losing exclusivity over the next decade, only 10% have biosimilars in development, meaning a vast majority of biologics have no pipeline, which limits savings potential for the health care system.
January 31st 2025
Measuring Antibodies to Infliximab To Guide Treatment Intensification in Crohn Disease
December 14th 2017A significant proportion of patients with Crohn disease (CD) who initially respond to infliximab therapy experience secondary loss of response with symptom flares. Treatment intensification (using increases in dose, dose frequency, or a combination of both to implement intensification) is a suggested strategy for regaining response.
Study Finds Switching Patients to Biosimilar Infliximab Safe and Effective in IBD
December 7th 2017No differences in drug levels or disease activity were found when adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were switched from originator infliximab (Remicade) to a biosimilar infliximab (Inflectra) as part of routine care, according to the results of a Dutch study.
Biologics, and Costs, Are on the Rise in IBD Treatment, Study Finds
November 28th 2017Biologics are increasingly used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but real-world data quantifying the costs of these therapies have been lacking. A new study, published in Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, sought to determine trends in costs and relative market share of IBD therapies in the United States over the past 9 years.
Biosimilars and the Nocebo Effect
October 18th 2017Switching patients from originator biologics to biosimilars is associated with the potential for a “nocebo” effect, a phenomenon that occurs when a patient’s negative expectation causes a treatment to have a more negative effect than it otherwise would—essentially, the opposite of the placebo effect.
Biosimilars Face Challenges From Providers, Patients, and Policies
October 13th 2017In recent paper published in Rheumatology, authors Till Uhlig, MD, and Guro L. Goll, PhD explore some of the remaining barriers to the adoption of biosimilar therapies in Europe. Physician attitudes, patient concerns, and prescribing restrictions on biologic therapies are all identified in the paper as having a role curbing uptake of biosimilars.
Study Finds Biologics Improve Outcomes in IBD, Are Cost Ineffective
October 12th 2017A recent study found that, while biologic agents improved outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, they incurred such high costs that they were deemed cost ineffective, particularly for use as maintenance therapy.
No Significant Differences in AEs in Patients Receiving Infliximab, Adalimumab for Crohn's Disease
October 2nd 2017A Brazilian study reports that adverse events occurred in approximately two thirds of patients with Crohn’s disease who were taking the anti-tumor necrosis factor medications infliximab and adalimumab.
Study Shows Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Prefer Adalimumab to Infliximab
September 27th 2017A study of Japanese patients with ulcerative colitis who were naïve to anti–tumor necrosis factor treatment found that patients preferred adalimumab to infliximab, but the researchers also reported no differences in the efficacy of the 2 treatments.
Drug Modulation Can Resolve Low-Level Anti-TNF Drug Antibodies in IBD
September 19th 2017A retrospective case series suggests that low-level anti-tumor necrosis factor anti-drug antibodies in patients with inflammatory bowel disease may be overcome by dose escalation and/or addition of an immunomodulator, which can allow for clinical improvement in disease status.
A European Perspective on Biosimilars
September 13th 2017At the 2017 AAM Biosimilars Council Conference, Adrian van den Hoven, director general of Medicines for Europe, contradicted the conventional thinking about biosimilars, saying that biosimilars do not simply reduce costs of treatment. Instead, he said, they deliver “huge additional health benefits to patients.”
Advocates Emphasize Need for Patient Cost Savings From Biosimilars
September 13th 2017On Tuesday, leaders of patient advocacy groups presenting at the 2017 AAM Biosimilars Council Conference had a clear message for industry: biosimilar uptake will only happen in earnest when patients begin to see savings on their out-of-pocket treatment costs.
EAHP Position on Biosimilars Contrasts With US Regulation on Naming, Interchangeability
September 2nd 2017The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP), a professional organization that represents over 21,000 hospital pharmacists in 35 European countries, recently released a position paper on biosimilar medicines.
Biosimilars Pose Cost-Saving Opportunities, Challenges in Transition Care of Adolescents With IBD
August 31st 2017A recent paper published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology examines the complexities posed by biologics and biosimilars in the transition care of adolescent patients who have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Budget Impact Analysis Shows a Need for Deep Discounts for Biosimilar Infliximab
August 16th 2017Although the use biosimilar infliximab in rheumatoid diseases and inflammatory bowel disease has the potential to reduce the treatment costs, a variety of factors may influence the adoption of biosimilar treatments and their potential impacts on healthcare budgets.