Amanda Forys, MSPH: If you said this to a payer, and they said, “That’s what the exceptions process is for,” comment on that a little bit. What does that mean for a patient to go through an exceptions process, what’s the timeline, what’s the stress, what’s the burden of paperwork and evidence that they have to give to the payer?
Christy M. Gamble, JD, DrPH, MPH: For the patient, it’s “Do I really want to go through all of this? I just want access to my medication. I don’t want to have to go through this process of filling out paperwork and talking with my provider, my provider is frustrated, I’m even more so frustrated because I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Like I said, for low-income patients and populations of color, who are not really familiar with these therapies, they’re just going to be really frustrated and say, “Just give me the drug that’s going to take away my frustrations and anxiety.” They tend to go with the outdated therapies, unfortunately, that don’t treat their disease states as effectively as these new therapies. So, [it is a] very frustrating process and one that most people will just give up and move on to the easiest route—like I said, the 5 As of accessibility—and that’s cutting off their access and creating another barrier that they’re not willing to jump over.
Biosimilars Oncology Roundup for June 2024—Podcast Edition
July 7th 2024On this episode of Not So Different, we review biosimilar news coming out of June, with clinical trial results from conferences and a study showcasing how to overcome economic and noneconomic barriers to oncology biosimilars.
Eye on Pharma: EC Approved Ustekinumab; Zymfentra Expansion; Biosimilar Policy Briefing
September 26th 2024The European Commission (EC) approved Celltrion's ustekinumab biosimilar for chronic inflammatory diseases, Celltrion expanded access to Zymfentra (subcutaneous infliximab-dyyb) through partnerships with Cigna and Express Scripts, and the Association for Accessible Medicines held a policy briefing addressing barriers to biosimilar adoption.
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.
Expanding Biosimilar Adoption: Insights and Strategies With Dr Sophia Humphreys
September 16th 2024Sophia Humphreys, PharmD, MHA, BCBBS, director of system formulary management at Sutter Health, discusses the challenges of expanding biosimilars into new therapeutic areas and highlights the role of education, competitive pricing, and integrated delivery networks in improving adoption and market growth.