Biosimilars Study Shows Massive State Savings Potential

According to a study released by Pacific Research Institute, biosimilars have the potential to bring significant savings to both state Medicaid programs and consumers with commercial insurance.

“Every state would experience significant savings in the state Medicaid programs from expanding the use of biosimilars compared to the more expensive originator biologics,” said Dr. Wayne Winegarden, director of PRI’s Center for Medical Economics and Innovation and author of this issue brief on biosimilars. “The same benefits will also accrue to patients covered in the commercial market.”

The study finds that in the current market, biosimilars save the health care system over $240.4 million. Greater use of these medicines, however, could generate even more savings. According to Dr. Winegarden’s analysis, if biosimilars obtained a 75 percent market share – less than the share in many EU nations – the resulting annual savings for the U.S. health care system could be nearly $7.0 billion.

About the Biosimilars Council

The Biosimilars Council, a division of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM), works to ensure a positive environment for patient access to biosimilar medicines. The Biosimilars Council is a leading source for information about the safety and efficacy of more affordable alternatives to costly brand biologic medicines. Areas of focus include public and health expert education, strategic partnerships, government affairs, legal affairs and regulatory policy. More information is available on our about page.

About AAM

AAM is driven by the belief that access to safe, quality, effective medicine has a tremendous impact on a person’s life and the world around them. Generic and biosimilar medicines improve people’s lives, improving society and the economy in turn. AAM represents the manufacturers and distributors of finished generic pharmaceuticals and biosimilars, manufacturers and distributors of bulk pharmaceutical chemicals, and suppliers of other goods and services to the generic industry. Generic pharmaceuticals are 90 percent of prescriptions dispensed in the U.S. but only 22 percent of total drug spending. Additional information is available at www.accesiblemeds.org.