The American Journal of Managed Care, a sister site of The Center for Biosimilars, looked back at some of the most popular biosimilars content of 2022 to be published on AJMC.com.
Both 2020 and 2021 were slow years for biosimilar approvals in the United States, but there were 7 total approved as of mid-December 2022. As more biosimilars come to market in the United States, there is interest in understanding how to implement biosimilars in practice and the cost savings that can be realized from greater use of biosimilars.
Here are the top 5 most popular biosimilars articles from 2022.
5. Patient Experiences, Oncologist Perceptions Differ for Trastuzumab Biosimilar Switch
Switching from a reference product to a biosimilar commonly happens for nonmedical reasons. Biosimilars are less expensive than the reference biologic and insurers or health care systems may lead the decision for this nonmedical switching.
However, a set of surveys revealed that patients and oncologists need improved communication regarding switching to trastuzumab biosimilars, and 41% of patients reported receiving no prior notification ahead of the switch. None of the oncologists surveyed reported that the decision to switch to a biosimilar was initiated by them.
4. High-Concentration Version of Adalimumab Biosimilar Will Be Available in 2023
While the FDA had approved multiple adalimumab biosimilars prior, this represented the first high-concentration citrate-free formulation of an adalimumab biosimilar approved by the FDA. Both the low- and high-concentration versions of Samsung Bioepis’ adalimumab biosimilar, Hadlima, will launch July 2023.
The citrate-free, high-concentration version reduces site injection pain. Currently, the high-concentration version of the reference product has the most market share.
3. Biosimilars Available for 3 Drugs Costing More Through Hospitals, Physicians
A report from AHIP analyzed the cost of 10 drugs and found those administered in a hospital or physician’s office can cost up to twice as much as the same drugs dispensed in specialty pharmacies.
Three of the drugs evaluated have multiple biosimilars available: Herceptin with 5 biosimilars available; Remicade with 4 biosimilars approved and 3 on the market; and Rituxan with 3 biosimilars available.
2. FDA Approves Third Bevacizumab Biosimilar
In April 2022, the FDA approved Alymsys, a bevacizumab biosimilar from Amneal Pharmaceuticals and mAbxience. It was the third biosimilar referencing Avastin to be approved in the United States. Alymsys was also the second biosimilar from Amneal approved in 2022.
Amneal’s first biosimilar approved of 2022 was Releuko, a filgrastim biosimilar. The company also had a pegfilgrastim biosimilar, Fylnetra, that was approved in June 2022.
1. Dr Timothy Murphy Discusses Successfully Implementing Biosimilars Into Community Cancer Practice
Timothy Murphy, MD, medical oncologist/hematologist with Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers (RMCC) discussed how his practice is handling the growing number of biosimilars. Educating providers and the pharmacy team was crucial for the success RMCC had had.
“We had to convince our providers that switching the drugs that they have written for with a biosimilar was an OK thing to do, that these medications are just as efficacious as the name brand drugs that they may have actually written for it,” he said.
Biosimilars Gastroenterology Roundup for November 2024—Podcast Edition
December 1st 2024On this episode of Not So Different, we discuss market changes in the adalimumab space; calls for PBM transparency and biosimilar access reforms grew; new data for biosimilars in gastroenterology conditions; and all the takeaways from this year's Global Biosimilars Week.
BioRationality: Withdrawal of Proposed Terminal Disclaimer Rule Spells Major Setback for Biosimilars
December 10th 2024The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)’s withdrawal of its proposed terminal disclaimer rule is seen as a setback for biosimilar developers, as it preserves patent prosecution practices that favor originator companies and increases costs for biosimilar competition, according to Sarfaraz K. Niazi, PhD.
Biosimilars Development Roundup for October 2024—Podcast Edition
November 3rd 2024On this episode of Not So Different, we discuss the GRx+Biosims conference, which included discussions on data transparency, artificial intelligence (AI), and collaboration to enhance the global supply chain for biosimilars and generic drugs, as well as the evolving requirements for biosimilar devices.
Pertuzumab Biosimilar Shows Promise in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Treatment
December 9th 2024The proposed pertuzumab biosimilar QL1209 demonstrated equivalent efficacy and safety to reference pertuzumab (Perjeta) in neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive, ER/PR-negative early or locally advanced breast cancer, offering a cost-effective alternative with comparable clinical outcomes.
Similar Persistence Rates Between Adalimumab New Starts, Switched Patients
December 7th 2024A French real-world study found that the adalimumab biosimilar SB5 was effective in treating rheumatic or gastrointestinal immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, showing no loss of disease control in switched patients and similar persistence rates between naive and switched groups.