Opinion
Video
Cost Savings Potential Associated With the Use of Biosimilars
Panelists discuss how biosimilars for adalimumab have faced unique challenges in the prescription benefit space compared with earlier oncology biosimilars, highlighting the importance of interchangeability designation, advance planning, and stakeholder education when implementing biosimilar adoption strategies.
Evolution of the Biosimilar Landscape
Key Themes:
- Regulatory and Market Evolution: The biosimilar landscape is experiencing significant regulatory updates, market trends, and new FDA approvals that are reshaping stakeholder adoption across health care systems.
- Adalimumab as a Case Study: Adalimumab serves as the “poster child” for biosimilar development, having been one of the top drug expenditures in the US for nearly a decade, demonstrating the critical need for lower-cost alternatives.
- Medical vs Pharmacy Benefit Challenges: Unlike oncology biosimilars administered under the medical benefit, adalimumab biosimilars face unique implementation challenges as pharmacy benefit medications where pharmacy benefit managers have greater control over product selection and substitution.
Key Points for Physicians:
- More adalimumab biosimilar options create greater competition, driving down prices and providing alternative presentations for different patient needs.
- Interchangeability designation significantly simplifies the prescription and dispensing process for pharmacy benefit biosimilars.
- Prelaunch information exchanges between health care systems and manufacturers can facilitate more rapid biosimilar implementation upon FDA approval.
Notable Insights:
Experience implementing oncology biosimilars has created pathways for other biosimilars, though with important differences between medical and pharmacy benefit medications.
Clinical Significance: Adalimumab biosimilars represent a critical opportunity to reduce one of health care’s highest drug expenditures while maintaining clinical efficacy. However, they require strategic implementation approaches that differ from previous biosimilar experiences.
