The main, but not the only, added value attributable to the entry of biosimilars is the possibility that a greater number of patients have access to biological treatments. In other words, due to the cost reduction compared to the original product, the main beneficiary of the incorporation of biosimilar medicines into healthcare systems are the patients.

Biological medicines have represented a notable advance in the treatment of diseases that are generally serious and chronic (but not only). In many cases, these are already therapeutically essential medicines, but whose average cost is much higher than that of chemically synthesized medicines. They may require more than 40% of pharmaceutical resources in certain hospitals. It is an upward trend, because it is known that a high percentage of the products currently in clinical development are biotechnological. Biosimilars, equivalent biological products but at a lower price, contribute to savings in pharmaceutical bills without reducing access to quality biological therapies. Biosimilars therefore consolidate the guarantee of quality healthcare coverage for future generations of patients.

The incorporation of biosimilar medicines will contribute to substantially increase patient access to innovative treatments. This greater access is produced by two mechanisms. On the one hand, the hospital savings that the acquisition of less expensive biological therapies implies, can be redirected towards new biological therapeutic options that are not affordable today for patients who may require them. On the other hand, by promoting competition in the pharmaceutical market, biosimilar medicines help to encourage research into new products by the biopharmaceutical industry.