1
Article
Low acceptance of biosimilars in regions of low social and political trust
This paper analyzes the relationship between trust in institutions and the adoption of biosimilars within Italy and Germany. Using multivariate regression methods, they identified the association between biosimilar market share, on the one hand, and social trust, political trust, and per capita income, on the other. They find that low levels of social trust and trust in government can be significant impediments to biosimilar adoption, despite the potential for significant savings that can be used to fund other healthcare services. Historically disadvantaged populations, such as those in southern Italy and eastern Germany, may mistrust the safety and efficacy of biosimilars as part of a broader mistrust of experts and institutions, which correlates with lower rates of adoption. In other words, the potential for economic savings is outweighed by the lack of social and political confidence. By extension, the appropriate response to regional variation in biosimilar adoption is not to double down on economic incentives, but rather to redesign those incentives to ensure that benefits accrue to the populations most affected and thus enhance social and political trust. .
GaBI Journal
2
SEO
Consensus document on biosimilar drugs in immune-mediated diseases in Spain
This qualitative study seeks to improve the level of knowledge about biosimilar medicines and generate an agreed framework on their use. To this end, a multidisciplinary group of experts in biosimilar medicines defined the sections and topics of the document. From a narrative review of the literature on biosimilar drug articles (555 articles) that included systematic reviews, pre-clinical, clinical, and real-life controlled studies, several general principles and recommendations were generated. Subsequently, a group of 66 health professionals voted a total of 10 general principles and recommendations using a Delphi (1, totally disagree to 10, totally agree). Agreement was defined if at least 70% of the participants voted ≥ 7. They concluded that the authorized biosimilar medicines meet all the characteristics of quality, efficacy and safety. In addition, they significantly help to improve patient access to biological therapies and contribute to the sustainability of healthcare systems.
Clinical Rheumatology
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1699258X22002820?via%3Dihub
3
Press release
Newfoundland and Labrador Announces Low Cost Biosimilar Transition Policy
Following in the wake of the 13 jurisdictions in Canada that already have biosimilar treatment switch policies in place, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador has recently put such a policy in place. The change policies require that patients enrolled in the public drug program be prescribed a biosimilar instead of a reference product. Patients who do not wish to transition to a biosimilar risk losing their coverage in the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Drug Program. Providers have until March 31, 2024 to prepare and educate patients taking a reference product on the benefits of biosimilars. Parent products that will be affected are glatiramer acetate, etanercept, insulin lispro, adalimumab, insulin glargine, enoxaparin sodium, insulin aspart, infliximab, and rituximab.
Newfoundland and Labrador, Government of Canada
https://www.gov.nl.ca/releases/2023/health/0324n04/
4
Infographic
Biosimilar medicines
This April, the Junta de Andalucía published a simple infographic in which it explains what biological medicines are, what biosimilar medicines are, why biosimilars are marketed, and some key points, such as that there are no differences in quality , efficacy and safety between biosimilar drugs and their parent drugs.
Group of rational use of medication for patient education of the Junta de Andalucía
5
Article
Original etanercept versus biosimilar etanercept for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis as a first biologic: results from the BSRBR-RA
UK national guidelines mandated the prescribing of etanercept biosimilars from 2016, resulting in significant cost savings. However, in order to find out if the efficacy profile was similar to the original in real life, a cohort study was carried out by the British Society of Rheumatology based on the Biological Registry in Rheumatoid Arthritis (BSRBR-RA) since 2010. A total of 1806 biologic-naïve rheumatoid arthritis patients (so this is not a switch study) began taking etanercept: 1009 original, 797 biosimilar. At 6 and 12 months, the proportion of patients achieving DAS28 remission and EULAR response were similar between treatments. 71% of originals and 76% of biosimilar patients remained on treatment for 1 year. Drug survival and disease activity after 6 and 12 months of treatment were similar between cohorts.