But Savings from Biosimilars Continue to be Undercut by Brand Patent and Rebate Barriers
WASHINGTON — The Biosimilars Council and the Association for Accessible Medicines today released the 2024 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report, showing savings for the healthcare system and increased patient access to care from biosimilar medicines, as well as challenges facing the industry and patients.
In 2023, savings from the use of biosimilar medicines reached $12.4 billion. Since their introduction to the market in 2015, biosimilars have generated $36 billion in savings. Biosimilars continue to demonstrate their safety and effectiveness with no meaningful differences in clinical outcomes.
“The good news: biosimilars continue to deliver quality care at lower prices,” said Craig Burton, Executive Director for the Biosimilars Council. “However, the biosimilars market faces severe challenges to its long-term sustainability. Swift legislative and regulatory action to safeguard biosimilar competition is vital.”
Biosimilar medicines significantly reduce costs and increase lifesaving treatment options for patients. To date, biosimilars have been used in 2.7 billion days of patient therapy and have supported 495 million incremental days of therapy that patients would otherwise not have received.
Despite progress, biosimilars averaged less than 20 percent of the market share in 2023, highlighting the persistent challenges to biosimilar growth and cost-savings. To further expand patient access to care and reduce healthcare spending, policymakers must continue to streamline the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process, prevent patent thickets, and remove the perverse incentives of brand drug rebates.
Key findings for biosimilars in the 2024 report:
- Total Biosimilar Savings for 2023: $12.4 billion
- Total Savings Since First Biosimilar Entry in 2015: $36 billion
- Total Days of Patient Therapy Since 2015: 2.7 billion
- Incremental Days of Patient Therapy That Would Not Have Occurred Without Biosimilar Competition: 495 million
- Savings for America’s patients and the U.S. healthcare system through use of generic and biosimilar medicines reached $445 billion in 2023.
The 2024 U.S. Generic & Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report was developed in partnership with the IQVIA Institute, continuing 14 years of collaboration to quantify savings for America’s patients and the U.S. healthcare system through the use of generic and biosimilar medicines.
