Biosimilars

Abstracts presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting evaluated biosimilar use in practices participating in the Oncology Care Model (OCM) and estimated the savings as a result of substituting these agents for more expensive reference products.

As part of the Biosimilars Initiative, British Columbia, Canada, implemented a mandatory switch to biosimilar insulin glargine for patients covered by the province’s drug plan.

On this episode of Managed Care Cast, we’re highlighting a hobby from a biosimilar expert who says he can make whisky more accessible and affordable through—you guessed it—his own biosimilar whisky.

Using biosimilar rituximab to replace the reference in a common combination regimen to treat diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) results in similar outcomes.

Real-world studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of switching to adalimumab biosimilars from the originator product confirmed the safety and efficacy of the biosimilars ABP 501 and SB5.

The FDA approval for Fylnetra represents the fifth approval for a biosimilar referencing Neulasta (pegfilgrastim) in the United States.

Research presented at EULAR 2022 demonstrated the pharmacokinetic equivalence of a low-concentration version of the adalimumab biosimilar SB5 and a high-concentration version.

Surveys of patients and oncologists found discrepancies between patient experiences and oncologist perceptions of those experiences during a nonmedical switch to trastuzumab biosimilars.

Alignment of incentives in the United States do not always support the use of biosimilars or other lower-cost alternatives, said Sonia T. Oskouei, PharmD, BCMAS, DPLA, vice president of biosimilars at Cardinal Health.

As biosimilar competition heats up in the United States, payers have more tools at their disposal to manage these agents.

While 2023 is a big year with at least 7 adalimumab biosimilars expected to come to market, 2024 will be even more important because all the products will be on the market and formulary decisions can be made, said Sonia T. Oskouei, PharmD, BCMAS, DPLA, vice president of biosimilars at Cardinal Health.

Biosimilar adoption can be accelerated or stymied depending on actions taken by the managed care space, explained Sonia Oskouei, PharmD, vice president, biosimilars, Cardinal Health, during a session at Asembia’s Specialty Pharmacy Summit.

The impact that the adalimumab biosimilars will have in 2023 is going to depend on when they all get to market, said Doug Long, MBA, vice president, industry relations, IQVIA.

Adam Fein, PhD, of Drug Channels Institute, and Doug Long of IQVIA discussed trends in the specialty pharmacy market in the United States.

Scott Gottlieb, MD, and Adam Fein, PhD, discussed potential fallout of the FDA Aduhelm approval and lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only did a majority of each group say they hadn’t heard of biosimilars, but those who had heard of them had negative perceptions.

Gillian Woollett, MA, Dphil, vice president and head of regulatory strategy and policy at Samsung Bioepis, gives insight into what international markets the United States could look to as examples of good biosimilar adoption.

Increased uptake of biosimilars on par with the utilization rates of filgrastim biosimilars could have saved Medicare Part D $84 million in 2019.

Alymsys from Amneal Pharmaceuticals and mAbxience is the third biosimilar referencing Avastin approved in the United States and the second of 3 biosimilar approvals Amneal expects in 2022.

In patients with intermediate- to high-risk, use of pegfilgrastim biosimilars could optimize management of FN risk.

A trastuzumab biosimilar was found to have similar safety and efficacy with the reference product (Herceptin) in patients with advanced gastric cancer, a population previously excluded from bioequivalence studies for trastuzumab biosimilars.

Implementing changes in a health system to promote biosimilar adoption is not easy, but by implementing a program, there could be substantial savings.

Patients switched from the originator product maintained their clinical outcomes and remissions status while biologic-naïve patients recorded positive responses and remission outcomes after initiating infliximab-dyyb.

During the recent Association of Community Cancer Centers’ 2022 Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, panelists suggested that the laser focus on rebates by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) may be hindering uptake of biosimilars, thereby keeping some off of formulary lists.

While filgrastim biosimilars had substantial uptake, there was low uptake of infliximab biosimilars. In addition, there was a lack of price competition.