In the United States, biosimilar launches have been met with disappointment over what many view as too-shallow discounts to reference products’ list prices. However, as Aurelio Arias, a consultant at IQVIA, explained during the SMi 9th annual conference on Biosimilars and Biobetters, held September 26-27 in London, United Kingdom, the substantial savings that the European market has realized with biosimilars are not necessarily reflected in list prices, either.
In the United States, biosimilar launches have been met with disappointment over what many view as too-shallow discounts to reference products’ list prices.
However, as Aurelio Arias, a consultant at IQVIA, explained during the SMi 9th annual conference on Biosimilars and Biobetters, held September 26-27 in London, United Kingdom, the substantial savings that the European market has realized with biosimilars are not necessarily reflected in list prices, either. Arias noted that in Europe, discounts on list prices at the time of launch are not that much greater than they are in the United States, as most European biosimilars appear to launch at a 10% to 20% discount to the originator. These are “not necessarily the huge savings we were promised initially,” he said.
However, net pricing is likely to tell a different story. While Arias explained that net pricing is similar to “the dark arts” and can be difficult to assess, the available data in Europe show that health systems are achieving discounts of as much as 70% for some drugs, primarily for molecules that have 3 biosimilar products available.
He noted that the number of entrants above 3 did not make a substantial impact on price, however, and that in nations where only a single manufacturer can win a tender, average net costs are higher than they are in countries that have multiple-winner tenders.
The discounts that health systems have been able to achieve have proven to be deep enough to drive substantial uptake (Arias cited approximately 70% uptake for biosimilar trastuzumab in the Netherlands 2 months after the first product launched), even when adopting a biosimilar means forgoing newer devices or routes of administration.
According to Arias, in some health systems that had previously moved patients with HER2-positive cancer to subcutaneous administration of the reference trastuzumab (Herceptin), clinicians reverted to intravenous administration of the reference product as a way to prepare patients for the switch to the intravenous biosimilar.
Overcoming the challenge of moving patients to a biosimilar version of adalimumab may be even less of a challenge; while Humira maker AbbVie has created a reformulated version of the reference drug—administered with a slightly smaller needle that is designed to cause less pain at the injection site—Arias says that physicians and health systems are likely to trade a minor difference in patient discomfort for substantial cost savings. In fact, he noted, some health systems are reporting that they plan to run their stocks of Humira dry so that they can replenish their pharmacies with a biosimilar product on the first day of their tender agreements.
Addressing Patent Abuse, Reimbursement Models Key to Sustainable Biosimilar Market
April 25th 2025Sonia T. Oskouei, PharmD, emphasized strategies to streamline regulations and evolve to overcome barriers and expand the availability of cost-effective biosimilar treatments across more therapeutic areas.
How AI Can Help Address Cost-Related Nonadherence to Biologic, Biosimilar Treatment
March 9th 2025Despite saving billions, biosimilars still account for only a small share of the biologics market—what's standing in the way of broader adoption and how can artificial intelligence (AI) help change that?
Decade of Biosimilars Yields $36 Billion in Savings and Strengthens Supply Chain
April 24th 2025Dracey Poore, MS, director of biosimilars and emerging therapies at Cardinal Health, highlighted that biosimilars saved $36 billion over the last decade by improving patient access and the supply chain, but continued education and a robust pipeline are crucial for future growth.
Will the FTC Be More PBM-Friendly Under a Second Trump Administration?
February 23rd 2025On this episode of Not So Different, we explore the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) second interim report on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) with Joe Wisniewski from Turquoise Health, discussing key issues like preferential reimbursement, drug pricing transparency, biosimilars, shifting regulations, and how a second Trump administration could reshape PBM practices.
BioRationality: EMA Accepts Waiver of Clinical Efficacy Testing of Biosimilars
April 21st 2025Sarfaraz K. Niazi, PhD, shares his latest citizen's petition to the FDA, calling on the agency to waive clinical efficacy testing in response to the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) efforts towards the same goal.
President Trump Signs Executive Order to Bring Down Drug Prices
April 16th 2025To help bring down sky-high drug prices, President Donald Trump signed an executive order pushing for faster biosimilar development, more transparency, and tougher rules on pharmacy benefit managers—aiming to save billions and make meds more affordable for everyone.