Practice

Biosimilars have improved access to health care in India, but many effective new drugs are high priced and patented, and authors of a new study recommend interventions to make these available, too.

An oncology practice administrator describes the careful calculus involved in balancing patient needs with the business side of biosimilars and cancer care.

Investigators speculate on why infliximab biosimilars don’t have a larger market share by now.

Vizient predicts that drug price inflation, partly due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), will be 3.29% in 2021 and is banking on biosimilars to help contain the rising cost of medication, it said in a comprehensive review for its member health companies.

On the heels of its earlier announcement of a bevacizumab biosimilar launch, India-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals said it also has a rituximab biosimilar entering the marketplace.

The Center for Biosimilars® spoke with Kashyap B. Patel, MD, about his work in promoting biosimilar uptake and his upcoming book on the importance of living life and not fearing death.

Despite there being concerns over the safety of nonmedical switching between a reference product and a biosimilar, there is a growing body of evidence supporting the safety of switching, according to an executive of Sandoz, which produces biosimilars.

Biologics are not cheap, and if you can get biosimilars into the hands of patients, you’ve got something going. A strategist describes the step-by-step process that made this possible at Kaiser Permanente.

Additional indications for Remsima SC, an infliximab biosimilar, are approved by the European Commission (EC).

The Center for Biosimilars® (CfB) spoke with Adrian van den Hoven, director general of Medicines for Europe, and Diogo Piedade, market access manager for Medicines for Europe, about their scorecard report for biosimilar access in European markets.

Cadila Pharmaceuticals has launched a bevacizumab biosimilar referencing Avastin in India. Bevacizumab is used for the treatment of colorectal, breast, and lung cancers, among others.

Biosimilar misinformation takes many forms, some of it institutionalized in the form of word usage and some of it deliberately disparaging, 2 executives of Sandoz and Boehringer Ingelheim contend.

In a webinar this week, experts discussed the business dynamics that prevent providers from being able to choose the lowest-cost biosimilars.

An upcoming webinar from MJH Life Sciences™ will address the payer rebate deals that limit provider choice of biosimilars and complicate clinical pharmacy operations.

Wide variation in treatment patterns for Crohn disease is attributable to failures to translate evidence uniformly and cost barriers. Authors of a new report have formulated algorithms to help reduce heterogeneity in treatment of patients.

The Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Association in Australia reported its 2020 Biosimilar Awareness Week was successful, with educational messages from the event reaching over 540,000 Australians via social media.

We sat down with Ryan Haumschild, PharmD, director of pharmacy at Emory Healthcare, to discuss how this program has empowered biosimilar utilization within Emory and how Emory’s initiatives could be implemented on a larger scale.

A phase 1b/2 trial evaluating a trastuzumab biosimilar as part of a first-line triplet regimen demonstrated significant tumor shrinkage in HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer.

Slow growth of use of biosimilar infliximab in a Medicare fee-for-service population suggests lingering hesitancy on the part of gastroenterologists and patients, particularly when it comes to extrapolation to off-label uses, according to a new study.

A review laid out ways for nurses to address patients’ questions on biosimilars in order to help them take on the role of improving utilization rates in cancer treatment.

After a study from India suggested a higher incidence of adverse reactions in patients using biosimilar filgrastims, 2 European biosimilar consultants and oncologists raised objections to the study’s methodology.

Sandoz Canada launched a digital campaign to provide fact-based materials on biosimilars in hopes of spreading awareness on the benefits of biosimilars for physicians and patients.

Kathy Oubre, chief operating officer at the Pontchartrain Cancer Center in Louisiana, president of the Louisiana Medical Group Management Association and member of the board of directors for the Community Oncology Alliance, discusses how payers, pharmacy benefit managers, and manufacturers make providing biosimilars complicated for patients and providers.

A new scorecard system developed by IQVIA rates the health and sustainability of biosimilars markets across Europe.

In surveys conducted in February and March 2020, rheumatologists cited low adoption rates of biosimilars by payers and unfavorable discounts as major reasons why they feel uncomfortable switching prescribing patterns from reference products to biosimilars.

Based on clinical studies on dosing, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics, European authorities have recommended Celltrion's subcutaneous infliximab biosimilar (Remsima SC) for 5 new indications.

Patients have problems getting timely authorizations for specialty meds and physicians face time burdens in getting them approved, a new report from CoverMyMeds says.

There is much inconsistency in the way physicians transition patients from insulin degludec to insulin glargine upon hospital admission, leading to higher risk especially for patients with type 1 diabetes, according to a study presented at the American Diabetes Association 80th Scientific Sessions online conference.

A study presented at the European League Against Rheumatism conference suggested that French rheumatologists have good knowledge of biosimilars but lack the confidence to use them.

Following in the footsteps of British Columbia, other Canadian provinces are working to implement their own biosimilars initiatives that would switch patients from some of the most costly reference biologics to biosimilar counterparts.