“I see no reason as a healthcare provider to intentionally go back and forth needlessly, but I see no concerns that, if I do that, bad things would happen,” said Jason Schairer, MD.
In an interview with The Center for Biosimilars®, Jason Schairer, MD, a gastroenterologist practicing in the Henry Ford Health System in Michigan who specializes in treating patients with inflammatory bowel disease, said that he has seen biosimilars begin to make inroads into clinical practice.
“In our practice,” he said, biosimilars “have slowly been increasing uptake based on provider preference, based on insurance company preference, and based on pharmacy preference to the point where many of our patients are currently receiving biosimilar [anti—tumor necrosis factor] therapy.”
Patients who are naïve to a given agent have had no qualms about starting treatment with a biosimilar rather than a reference product, he reports, although patients who are well maintained on a reference product are sometimes apprehensive, and that requires educating the patient about the data on switching.
Patients in Schairer’s practice who have switched to a biosimilar have not experienced any clinical differences in their treatment thus far, and Schairer points out that some of his patients have had to switch their therapy back and forth multiple times.
“A couple different things are coming together,” he said. “The first is that the individual insurance may mandate medication or the other. In addition, the insurer may now currently recommend that we don’t do our infusions in our office but rather in a third-party infusion center, and that infusion center may have their own pharmacy that has their own preference,” so patients may have switched from a first medication to a second in the practice’s own setting, then back to the first medication in the infusion center setting.
Despite the fact that no biosimilars are yet designated interchangeable by the FDA, says Schairer, “I think the data from Europe support that it should be safe and reasonable, and clinically I’ve seen no problems” in undertaking multiple switches. The primary problem with multiple switches is that it can be frustrating for patients and require additional paperwork for providers.
“I see no reason as a healthcare provider to intentionally go back and forth needlessly, but I see no concerns that, if I do that, bad things would happen.”
Schairer explained that he has spoken with many fellow providers from around the country who have reached out about insurers’ mandates that patients switch treatments. “They have their own anxieties and worries about that process. Now, I don’t share most of their anxieties, but I appreciate that it’s very concerning when you’re used to something that’s been working.”
In counseling his peers on the process of switching patients, he said, “We reference the NOR-SWITCH trial, we reference the Italian data, the Korean data. In general, people have not lost response and, for the most part, have not had increased side effects. I just tell them that, if it’s going to save our patients money, I’m okay with it, but I do hope that insurers are passing savings on to the patients.”
Whether those savings are indeed passed along is an open question; Schairer says that, so far, patients have not yet told him about saving money by switching to a biosimilar. Instead, they have told him that their costs will rise if they fail to make the switch. While biosimilars may be providing savings for the healthcare system as a whole, “I can’t really say [patients] are being factored into the decision.”
Schairer discloses speaking on biosimilars at events sponsored by Pfizer.
Enhancing Adoption of Infused Biosimilars for a Sustainable Future
October 30th 2024An IQVIA report highlights challenges to the sustainability of infused biosimilars in the US, citing rebate walls and reimbursement policies, and proposes key solutions to enhance adoption and benefits for all stakeholders.
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.
Biosimilars Gastroenterology Roundup for May 2024—Podcast Edition
June 2nd 2024On this episode of Not So Different, we review the biggest gastroenterology biosimilar stories from May 2024, covering new data from conferences and journals on infliximab and adalimumab products that demonstrate positive clinical results and confirm the safety of these biosimilars, as well as the feasibility of switching to them.
FDA and Industry Experts Unpack Biosimilar Device Requirements
October 23rd 2024At the GRx+Biosims 2024 conference, a panel of industry experts and FDA officials discussed evolving device requirements for biosimilars and interchangeable biosimilars, highlighting new approaches to comparative use human factors studies, regulatory challenges, and alternative validation methods.