Practice

Researchers found that the percentage of biosimilar uptake is a better predictor of whether prices of biologics will significantly decrease, refuting the argument that more biosimilars for a single reference product will have the biggest impact.

A systematic review found that patients who were switched from one biosimilar to another did not experience a change in clinical outcomes or an increase in adverse events.

Vizient’s Pharmacy Market Outlook report offers predictions on how the emergence of adalimumab biosimilars in 2023 will affect the biosimilar industry and what actions should be taken in advance to ensure biosimilar adoption.

Two experts in biosimilar intellectual property (IP) law break down the issues that digital health and precision medicine face with IP and the history of case law that has created the current landscape.

Ivo Abraham, PhD, chief scientist of Matrix45 and a member of The Center for Biosimilars® Advisory Board, explains the difference between biosimilar interchangeability and substitution and weighs in on whether switching studies are necessary.

A survey study found that many patients with breast cancer reported receiving inadequate information regarding switching from Herceptin to a trastuzumab biosimilar, with some patients reporting that they were never told a switch occurred or what a biosimilar was.

During its annual conference in Sitges, Spain, Medicines for Europe recommended policy reforms for strengthening European health systems, including the use of off-patent medications like biosimilar and generic drugs.

Having patients meet with a clinical pharmacist before a rheumatologist could help improve biosimilar adoption rates and mitigate the nocebo effect in patients with chronic diseases, according to a recent study.

Jeffrey Casberg, vice president of pharmacy at IPD Analytics, discussed the different options that payers have to manage the growing number of biosimilars referencing Humira (adalimumab) that are expected to enter the market in 2023 and beyond.

Abstracts from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting took a look at the impact biosimilar substitution and increased biosimilar adoption had on spending within practices participating in value-based payment models and the Oncology Care Model.

Gillian Woollett, MA, DPhil, vice president and head of regulatory strategy and policy at Samsung Bioepis, outlines how concerns over the safety and efficacy of biosimilars has shifted and what new concerns the industry is focusing on.

Savings generated from biosimilar utilization could be used to promote innovation for new therapies or funding for more health care services, said Julie M. Reed, the executive director of the Biosimilars Forum.

Posters presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)'s annual meeting showed the successful approaches health systems took to encourage greater adoption of oncology biosimilars.

Ryan Haumschild, PharmD, MS, MBA, from Emory Healthcare and Winship Cancer Institute, gives an overview of what practices and health systems need to prepare for as more interchangeable biosimilars enter the US market.

Jeff Patton, MD, CEO and board member at OneOncology, dived into the controversial role that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) play in formulary decision-making and how PBMs impact biosimilar utilization.

In a pharmacokinetic study, Alvotech’s ustekinumab biosimilar referencing Stelara was shown to have comparable safety and efficacy to the reference product, according to the company’s preliminary results.

Posters from the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP)’s annual meeting examined the real-world patterns of biosimilar utilization and the impact of products that have been reclassified as biologics on Medicaid spending.

Amy Valley, vice president of clinical strategy and technology solutions at Cardinal Health, details the company's Decision Pathway, a health information technology (IT) tool that can assist practices with prescribing patients the lowest-cost product, including biosimilars.

A report on biosimilar uptake and existing policies signals that policy makers should proceed with caution when establishing new policies to boost biosimilar utilization and savings, as many patients and providers still have concerns on their usage.

Despite improvements in biosimilar education efforts for future health care professionals, payer policies need a major revamp to ensure that biosimilar use is encouraged, according to Pfizer's Mike Gladstone.

Biosimilars provide significant savings and encourages competition in the biopharmaceutical marketplace but the United States needs to do more to empower uptake and address adoption barriers, according to Robert Popovian PharmD, MS.

An analysis of real-world dosing and effectiveness of pegfilgrastim biosimilars found the clinical benefits of preventing febrile neutropenia in patients with intermediate to high risk come at acceptable financial costs compared with filgrastim biosimilars.

Edward Arrowsmith, MD, discussed his recent paper on the use of clinical pathways for specific cancer types and how biosimilar development can help ensure quality of care for patients with limited therapeutic options.

Chelsee Jensen, PharmD, and Eric Tichy, PharmD, MBA, who coauthored a paper on the Mayo Clinic's success with implementing biosimilars, discuss their study and how their practice is expected to evolve to improve its approach.

Jeffrey Casberg, vice president of pharmacy at IPD Analytics, previews his sessions about the new and emerging pharmaceutical products coming down the pipeline at the upcoming Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) annual meeting.

Kathy Oubre, MS, chief executive officer of Pontchartrain Cancer Center, explains the progress she has seen regarding biosimilar utilization and acceptance.

Pfizer’s trastuzumab biosimilar (trastuzumab-qyyp; Trazimera) was stable and efficacious under conditions of extended use in patients with breast cancer, investigators concluded.

Civica Rx will collaborate with companies to manufacture and distribute 3 insulin biosimilars and will offer them at an affordable price to uninsured and underinsured patients.

Kathy Oubre, MS, chief operating officer of Pontchartrain Cancer Center, explains how biosimilars are helping to rid clinicians of their worries about the affordability of biologic drugs.

Switching patients with Crohn disease from reference adalimumab to SB5, a Samsung Bioepis biosimilar, did not lead to major changes in disease activity in a real-world analysis.