AAM Annual Savings Report – Biosimilars and Bending the Cost Curve

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Thursday October 14, 2021

Since the enactment of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act in 2010, patients with complex disease have been eager to access biosimilar therapies and the savings they provide. New data show that biosimilars’ savings are both real and growing. The 2021 U.S. Generic and Biosimilar Medicines Savings Report released by the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) and shared by the Biosimilars Council found biosimilars have generated $12.6 billion in savings over the past 10 years.

The amount of per-year savings has increased as additional molecules come to market and more patients are given access to these safe and effective alternatives. In 2020 alone, biosimilars provided nearly $8 billion in savings, a three-fold increase over 2019.

Two molecules demonstrate the great savings potential of biosimilars: infliximab and filgrastim. Multiple biosimilars have entered the market for these molecules, increasing competition and generating savings across multiple treatment areas.

When biosimilars enter the market, they are consistently launching at prices lower than that of their biologic counterpart. No biosimilar has left the market once launched, and this consistent competition and lower launch pricing has brought down the average sales price of reference biologics. This provides savings not only to insurers, employers and taxpayers, but also to patients who benefit from lower out-of-pocket costs. Collectively, the introduction and availability of biosimilars means that patient access is improved and costs are lowered.

Since the approval of the first biosimilar in 2015, biosimilars have been used in more than 121 million days of patient therapy. This analysis, which was completed by IQVIA on behalf of AAM and shared by the Biosimilars Council, also found the availability of biosimilars have resulted in almost 10 million additional days of therapy.

Biosimilars are positioned to deliver even more savings and promote additional patient access, with estimates of future savings reaching over $130 billion. Today, biosimilar competition is present for just under 14% of the biologics market, but almost 50% of the innovator market has an approved biosimilar competitor that has not yet launched. Where biosimilars are an available treatment option, they now make up a quarter of the doses that are dispensed. These examples show that despite the many regulatory, legal and market access hurdles biosimilars face, biosimilar efficiency is increasing for those able to launch and more of the market continues to be positively affected by the addition of these cost-effective alternatives.

We encourage policy makers to adopt policies that will promote continued availability and increased uptake of these safe and effective products for America’s patients.

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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 18 percent of total drug spending.

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 at www.biosimilarscouncil.org.

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