Biosimilars Bulletin | December 2020

News and Updates

A Biosimilar Helps Helen Live Her Life to the Fullest

Diagnosed in her late twenties with incurable stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Helen, now 41 and a wife and mother of two, knows she can rely on biosimilars to help when needed, so she can live her life to the fullest.

Biosimilar Awareness, Access and Savings Continue to Grow

“As biosimilars receive FDA approval and more and more become available to patients, we’re beginning to see a greater understanding and appreciation for these medicines as lower cost options,” explains Dr. Hillel Cohen, executive director of scientific affairs in the Sandoz division of Novartis and Sandoz representative to the education committee of the U.S. Biosimilars Council. “You are not being switched to a new medication. You’re being kept on the same medication that’s being made by a different manufacturer.”

Sean McGowan on What’s in Store for Biosimilars in 2021 and Beyond

Sean McGowan, senior director of Biosimilars at AmerisourceBergen, recently appeared during a series of interviews on MJH Life Sciences™’ Medical World News about the challenges of bringing a biosimilar to market, how to ensure biosimilar competition in the future and what to keep an eye on as the market grows over time.

Robert Rifkin, MD, Discusses Overcoming Lingering Biosimilar Education Gaps

Robert Rifkin, MD, FACP, oncologist and hematologist with Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers and medical director of Biosimilars for McKesson, discusses how his practice is working to correct biosimilar education gaps among physicians and the consequences if those gaps are not addressed.

Video Forum: Dan Leonard, Association for Accessible Medicines

Dan Leonard, President and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines, discusses the impact of generic medications on health care and the challenges and opportunities facing the industry. Among the issues addressed are generics’ role in treating COVID-19 patients, the emergence of biosimilars and the Medicaid generics penalty.

AAM Statement on President-elect Biden Naming Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Health and Human Services

The Association for Accessible Medicines and its members look forward to working with President-elect Biden’s designee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, to secure patient access to safe, effective and affordable generic and biosimilar medicines.

Boehringer Ingelheim Files Citizen Petition to Change FDA’s BPCIA Interpretation

Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) said that it has filed a citizen petition asking the FDA to change its interpretation of a portion of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA).

Featured Resources

Biosimilars Facts

Biosimilar medicines are alternative versions of existing brand biologic medicines with scientifically comparable quality, safety and effectiveness. Biosimilars provide important competition for expensive biologic medicines, which can help lower costs for patients, taxpayers and insurers and increase access to lifesaving medications.

Barriers to Biosimilar Market Adoption

Few of the nine biosimilars available to patients have been able to garner significant market share. This is a direct result of anti-competitive market access tactics by brand-name companies, along with inadequate incentives for their use and insufficient information for patients. Taken together, these post-market barriers have slowed biosimilars adoption, adding upwards of $2.2 billion in potential lost savings since 2015 to the $7.6 billion.

Upcoming Events

GRx+Biosims Virtual Conference

If you couldn’t make it to the 2020 GRx+Biosims® virtual conference, you missed some timely, insightful and beneficial content relevant to everyone in the generics and biosimilars industry. You can find a recap of the conference highlights here. However, you can still get access to the conference platform — at a great price — and receive on-demand access to special presentations from key influencers and industry experts.

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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 23 percent of total drug spending. Additional information is available at www.accessiblemeds.org.