
OneOncology Has Begun Administering Bevacizumab, Trastuzumab Biosimilars
Weeks after the first 2 anticancer biosimilars entered the US market, OneOncology announced that its partner practices have already started administering the drugs.
Weeks after the first 2 anticancer biosimilars
The 2 biosimilars, bevacizumab-awwb (Mvasi), referencing Avastin, and trastuzumab-anns (Kanjinti), referencing Herceptin, arrived on the market in July. At the time, the Amgen—Allergan partnership announced that the list price of both products would be 15% cheaper than their respective reference products.
“While biologics have made important and exciting progress treating some cancers, they have also come at a great financial cost,” Jeffrey Patton, MD, president of physician services at OneOncology,
OneOncology, led by Tennessee Oncology, New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, and West Cancer Center, launched in September 2018 to help community oncology practices navigate the cancer care landscape and provide high-quality care to their patients.
In line with their quadruple aim of increasing access, improving quality, reducing costs, and transforming the patient experience, the partnership made the decision to make biosimilars preferred formulary agents as part of its cost effectiveness strategy.
“As we begin to incorporate biosimilar medications into our treatment pathways, we will collaborate with our physicians to navigate the fluctuating healthcare landscape and drive initiatives that ensure our clinicians appropriately utilize the right therapeutic sequence at the right time for the patient,” said Lee Schwartzberg, MD, chief medical officer of OneOncology, in a statement.
Biosimilar stakeholders and advocates for the drugs will likely welcome the news, as estimates have projected up to $60 billion in savings in 2023 for a 5-year total of $153 billion as a result of biosimilar use. Just this week, Vizient released its semiannual drug pricing forecast, in which they said biosimilars will play a
However, stakeholders have argued that abuses of the patent system that delay biosimilar competition are
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