Dr Joseph Fuhr: Interchangeability Poses Too Much Risk, Too Little Reward

A study evaluating the real-world impact of treating patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) with an adalimumab biosimilar found that providing patient questionnaires early can be useful for identifying those at a higher risk of treatment discontinuation.

On this episode of Not So Different, Fran Gregory, PharmD, MBA, vice president of emerging therapies at Cardinal Health, analyzes the adalimumab market so far in the United States and provides insight into how the market needs to adapt to accept these products and ensure lower drug costs for patients.

Growing use of innovator biologics, including those with biosimilar competition, has led to increased Medicare Part B drug expenditures, with the trend unlikely to stop.

On this episode, we’re giving an overview of some of the biggest stories in the business space regarding biosimilars, like the approval of the first neurology biosimilar, growth projections from company quarterly expense reports, and some analyses about the health of the market.

A report from the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) highlighted the value of biosimilars and generics, revealing that lower-cost versions of originator products accumulated $408 billion for the US health care system in 2022.

Perhaps the most significant development in the pharmaceutical industry in decades, crops of biosimilars are being approved and are ready for distribution. What lies next, in terms of legislation and the impact on pharmacists, remains to be seen.