Seth Ginsberg, co-founder and president of the Global Healthy Living Foundation, discusses the challenges that patients face in accessing biologic medicines.
Transcript:
What challenges do patients with inflammatory diseases face in accessing biologic therapies?
There are several challenges that patients with inflammatory diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis or RA, face in accessing biologic therapies.
First, patients respond uniquely to biologics. It is impossible for a rheumatologist to predict which medicine might work best in their patients, based on specific criteria. This is in our future, however. Instead, today, patients must often go through a “trial and error” process when they try a medicine for 3 to 6 months to see if there is a positive response. It could take months or even years for a person with arthritis to find an effective therapy. So the challenge here lies in not knowing which biologic to select for optimal results.
Another challenge patients face isn’t related to biology. Rather, it’s related to their wallet. A person’s health insurance—public, private or a combination—will often dictate which medicines are available in their plan’s formulary and affordable based on the required co-pay or deductible. Rheumatologists (and their practice staffs) spend countless hours working with their patients to wade through paperwork and jargon to determine which therapies might be obtainable to the patient. In some cases, patients must go through lengthy approval processes (including prior authorization or “fail first” protocols) to qualify to obtain the medicine prescribed by their physician. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the physician-patient relationship is being undermined by insurance companies (and their partner pharmacy benefit managers) who are making medicine decisions based on dollar signs rather than medical judgement.
Biosimilars in America: Overcoming Barriers and Maximizing Impact
July 21st 2024Join us as we explore the complexities of the US biosimilars market, discussing legislative influences, payer and provider adoption factors, and strategies to overcome industry challenges with expert insights from Kyle Noonan, PharmD, MS, value & access strategy manager at Cencora.
Q&A With Dr Chelsee Jensen: Navigating FDA Approvals, Challenges in the Biosimilar Landscape
January 14th 2024Chelsee Jensen, PharmD, BCPS, senior pharmacy specialist and pharmaceutical formulary manager at Mayo Clinic, reacts to the biggest FDA approvals of 2023 and how she sees the adalimumab, natalizumab, and tocilizumab spaces playing out.
Breaking Barriers in Osteoporosis Care: New Denosumab Biosimilars Wyost, Jubbonti Approved
June 16th 2024In this episode, The Center for Biosimilars® delves into the FDA approval of the first denosumab biosimilars, Wyost and Jubbonti (denosumab-bbdz), and discuss their potential to revolutionize osteoporosis treatment with expert insights from 2 rheumatologists.
IGBA 2023: Dr Monique Mansoura Highlights the Intersection of Geopolitical Issues, Biopharma
February 19th 2023COVID-19 allowed governments to critically examine the biopharma space to increase access to vaccines, but there's still a way to go, according to Monique Mansoura, PhD, MBA, executive director of global health security and biotechnology at the MITRE Corporation, at the International Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association’s annual meeting.