Allison Inserro

With a variety of policy ideas circulating around Washington, DC, in regards to stimulating biosimilar competition and lowering drug prices, the role of the FDA is to provide technical assistance to those legislative staffers and others looking for information, a key FDA official told a packed audience at the ACI 10th Summit on Biosimilars on Monday in New York City.

Slow uptake of biosimilars, among other factors, will help propel drug spending over the next 7 years, according to a report released this week by PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI).

Legislators on Capitol Hill are moving forward this month with bills that address patent issues pertaining to biosimilars.

A worldwide survey conducted by an international type 1 diabetes (T1D) advocacy non-profit found that rationing of insulin and related supplies was the greatest in the Unites States.

Korean drug maker Celltrion Healthcare recently presented new findings from a 2-part study at the European League Against Rheumatism European Congress of Rheumatology 2019 meeting about subcutaneous biosimilar CT-P13 (Inflectra, Remsima).

A Canadian advisory council is recommending the use of biosimilars in a final report that lays out 60 recommendations for how the country can create a C$15.3 billion universal, single-payer, public system for pharmaceutical coverage.

The introduction of infliximab for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) did not result in lower population rates of hospitalizations or intestinal surgeries among patients living with IBD in Ontario, Canada, according to a study published Thursday.

A new consensus paper from the Asia-Pacific Working Group on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) released a set of best practices for improving IBD care with biologics and biosimilars.

“Do I think these numbers are reasonable and achievable? Potentially,” said Christina Corridon, MPH, MBA, a principal with the consulting firm ZS.

A consensus statement developed by the Pan American League of Associations for Rheumatology (PANLAR) regarding biosimilars warned against the use of so-called "biomimics," or copy biologics.

A bill supported by a coalition of physician specialty organizations was introduced in the House of Representatives this week to alleviate the growing use of prior authorizations in Medicare Advantage. At the same time, the group released survey results saying that PAs are increasing physician burdens and leading to delays in patient care.

Competition has done little to keep the lid on rising pharmaceutical prices for brand-name products, especially insulins and anti-inflammatory drugs, and costs will continue to rise unless action is taken, according to a recent paper written by researchers from the Scripps Research Translational Institute.

Last year, when noted researcher James Allison, PhD, won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his pioneering work that led to the development of groundbreaking oncology treatment, he took the occasion as an opportunity to decry what he said was a death of basic scientific research, as development for new pharmaceuticals is usually tied to closely guarded company data.

With patents on reference products that treat multiple sclerosis (MS) set to expire soon in the region, a panel of experts in Latin America recently published a set of recommendations regarding the efficacy, safety, and quality of biosimilars in these countries.

In May 2019 policy news, bills touching on various aspects of biosimilars progressed through Congress, and HHS finalized 2 proposals affecting drug pricing. One state capped monthly insulin prices, while in Canada, one province will move patients taking reference biologics for rheumatological diseases and diabetes to biosimilars within 6 months.

The Biosimilars Forum said this week that if Congress enacted certain changes, the federal government and beneficiaries could save billions of dollars in Medicare Part B.

Key biopharmaceutical markets outside the United States are focusing on drug prices, and the increased use of biosimilars is a key part of their strategy, according to a report from the PwC Health Research Institute.

Another piece of bipartisan legislation was introduced last week that seeks to promote biosimilars.

This week, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, D, signed the nation’s first bill that will cap insulin co-pays at $100 per month for people with health insurance.

Europe has several lessons for the US biosimilar market, according to a pharmaceutical executive who spoke during ISPOR 2019.

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have similar rates of infection after total knee or hip replacement no matter which biologic they take, but those using glucocorticoids, even moderate doses, appear to have an increased risk of postoperative infections, according to a study published today.

Net spending on biologics totaled $125.5 billion in last year, up 9.5% since 2017. Biosimilar spending has doubled since 2017 but still represents under 2% of the total US biologics market. Biosimilars are used less than one-third of the time, a recent report from IQVIA said.

With the expanded use of step therapy on the horizon in 2020, an advocacy initiative of rheumatology, arthritis, and gastroenterology and other associations recently released a report “grading” payers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for the extent of their prescription coverage of medications for patients with autoimmune disorders.

The guidance explains that the data and information needed to meet the legal standard for interchangeability, which shows that the proposed interchangeable product can be expected to produce the same clinical result as the reference product in any given patient, will vary by case.

Patients with psoriasis taking new prescriptions of apremilast, etanercept, and ustekinumab had a decreased rate of serious infection compared with those taking methotrexate, according to an analysis of medical records from 2 large US claims databases.

A phase 3 trial of eculizumab found the drug reduced the frequency of relapse neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), an autoimmune, inflammatory disorder that typically affects the optic nerves and spinal cord.

A study designed to see if infliximab could reduce depression symptoms did not show statistically significant results, except for participants who had a history of childhood physical abuse.

In an effort to improve price transparency, the Trump administration on Wednesday announced a final rule requiring drug manufacturers to disclose their list prices for pharmaceutical products or biologics in television ads for drugs covered by Medicare or Medicaid if the wholesale acquisition cost is $35 or more for a month’s supply. Affected drugs include adalimumab (Humira), with its wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of $5174 per month, and etanercept (Enbrel), with its WAC of $5174 per month.

The idea of giving the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) more authority to cut through patent thickets blocking biosimilar competition was raised Tuesday during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee about intellectual property, patent law, and the impact on drug prices.

With additional biosimilars expected to reach the market later this year and beyond, Canada has made another move to foster biosimilar adoption with 2 recent developments.