IGBA Launches Educational Materials on Biosimilars

The International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association (IGBA) has launched new educational materials on its website promoting awareness of and education about biosimilar products.

Topics covered by the group’s slide presentation on biosimilars range from background information to outlines of the major social and economic challenges associated with biosimilars and biologics.

Among the key topics addressed are problems that health systems will have to face in the coming years, including the effect of an increasingly older population. According to IGBA, approximately 80% of adults aged 60 years and older are living with at least 1 chronic condition.

At the same time, “Between 2015 and 2030, the number of people in the world aged 60 years or over is projected to grow by 56%, from 0.9 billion to 1.4 billion. By 2050, this population is projected to increase to nearly 2.1 billion; more than double the size it was in 2015.”

As such, there will be a tremendous need and opportunity for biosimilar medicines to provide competition to existing biologics as treatment for the aging and chronic disease populations. IGBA points to a survey compiled in 2016 that found that the major focus of biosimilar medicines was in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, which made up 45% of the global biosimilar pipeline, with oncologic biosimilars closely behind at 40%.

IGBA has named this period “the era of biologics.” According to the presentation, biologics have grown to become an indispensable tool in modern medicine, and there remains great opportunity for drug makers to capitalize on the importance of biosimilars by introducing more into the market, and thereby increasing patient access to life-saving drugs.

In order for the United States to fully benefit from biologics, it will have to increase the pace of its biosimilar uptake; US sales of biologic medicines make up 59% of global biologic sales, reports IGBA, compared with Europe’s 22% of global sales. By comparison, the United States accounts for only 2% of global biosimilar sales, which is in stark contrast with Europe’s 87%.