News

Cheryl Larson, president and chief executive officer of the Midwest Business Group on Health, discusses the sticker shock of rising specialty drug costs and how biosimilars are going to be incorporated into efforts to push back against this medical inflation.

A New Zealand study of patients with rheumatic conditions suggests that providers need to be mindful of patient attitudes toward biosimilars to prevent biased therapy choices and poor outcomes.

Here are the top 5 biosimilars articles for the week of April 20, 2020.

Samsung Bioepis isn't flinching on its trastuzumab biosimilar launch schedule, COVID-19 and 4 other biosimilar competitors notwithstanding, said Sang-Jin Pak, MD, executive vice president of the company's Commercial Division.

Ha Kung Wong, JD, a patent law attorney with Venable of New York, New York, discusses recent regulatory actions to promote biosimilars.

Biosimilar pricing is not as simple as a manufacturer's stated discount to the reference product cost, according to Adam Brufsky, MD, PhD, FACP, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) in Pennsylvania.

Although the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has put a burden on the economy and the healthcare system in particular, Kashyap Patel, MD, believes that the crisis will likely speed up biosimilar uptake in the United States.

A peer-reviewed study suggested that comparative efficacy trials are not always needed to determine efficacy equivalence for biosimilars, as data from pharmacokinetic (PK) studies and in vitro functional assays may suffice.

A Swedish company that wants to bring a ranibizumab biosimilar to market said it may finish trial enrollment despite the pandemic.

A panel of experts discusses the rising class of biological agents and why clinical pharmacists need to deepen their knowledge.

A pathway model that incorporated use of biosimilars has shown great promise, according to Colin C. Edgerton, MD, executive chairman of the American Rheumatology Network.

Education is often noted as a barrier to uptake, but a prominent pharmacy expert said multiple private and public policies also stand between patients and biosimilars.

Patients in an Australian clinic were generally open to using biosimilars but knew little about them, according to a recent study.

Here are the top 5 biosimilars articles for the week of April 13, 2020.

A bill designed to provide assistance to patients who cannot afford their insulin was signed into law by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

A percentage of oncology pharmacy practitioners report their guidance on biosimilars is influential with clinicians, but many feel their knowledge of biosimilars is deficient in a number of important areas.

A commentary in The Lancet suggests that the new biological pathway for insulin product approval, established in March, will be insufficient to address issues insulin prices and biosimilar uptake.

The private payer lobby America’s Health Insurance Plans has issued a laundry list of things the FDA and Federal Trade Commission could do to improve biosimilar access.

In partnership with Samsung Bioepis, Merck has launched the trastuzumab biosimilar Ontruzant, which marks the fifth trastuzumab biosimilar available on the US market.

The Boston Medical Center Health System (BMCHS) of Massachusetts was able to achieve high adoption rates for biosimilars based on experience with a “nonbiosimilar.”

After noting the stories of individuals with diabetes dying due to their inability to afford insulin, the Minnesota House has passed an emergency insulin bill that is expected to move rapidly through the Senate to the governor’s desk.

The first 3 months of 2019 saw a trio of biosimilar launches on the US market, ahead of the year-ago quarter's pace, and this came despite the disruption caused by coronavirus disease 2019.

With the launch of Mylan and Biocon’s pegfilgrastim biosimilar, Australia adds another biosimilar to its portfolio of biosimilars in circulation.

The introduction of biosimilars as anticancer therapies was preceded by a period of supportive care biosimilars. Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, describes how he and other clinicians decide which of these agents to use.

Cancer treatments can lead to unpredictable adverse events, so a COVID-19–related measure allowing home infusion jeopardizes patient health and safety, according to the Community Oncology Alliance (COA).

The World Health Organization’s guidance for the development and approval of biosimilars is based on faulty science and reasoning, and it represents a hazard to the safety of patients that must be corrected, according to Sarfaraz K. Niazi, PhD.

The Danish medical system saved 82.8% on adalimumab by switching almost all patients from the reference product to biosimilars, but such a benefit for the US healthcare system may not be possible, according to a new study.

The Center for Biosimilars® recaps the top stories for the week of April 6, 2020.

Oncologist/hematologist Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, describes some important considerations for using biosimilars in clinical practice.

With positive phase 1 study results and a manufacturing process that may cut costs significantly, BiosanaPharma hopes its omalizumab biosimilar candidate will have an edge on the worldwide market.