S3, Ep 8- Anticipating the 2023 Biosimilar Boom: What Should You Know?

2023 will be marked by the introduction of several biosimilars for Humira (adalimumab) on the U.S. market. While biosimilars can generate savings for the health system, many questions remain with decisions to be made by Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), and health insurers, all of which will impact patients themselves.

In this episode, our hosts discuss the many implications of introducing competition to the marketplace. “Are we going to see lower prices? Are we going to see lower costs for patients? Those are… the questions that we're going to have to face in the next 12 months,” says Dr. Robert Popovian, Chief Science Policy Officer at GHLF.

Our guest, Zoe Rothblatt, Associate Director of Community Outreach at GHLF, and person living with spondyloarthritis and Crohn's disease, joins the conversation to bring her patient perspective.

Among the highlights in this episode:

1:35: “According to Amgen’s most recent Biosimilar Trends Report, biosimilars have saved the U.S. healthcare system roughly $21 billion over the past six years,” says Dr. Popovian

3:13: “Every time a biosimilar has been introduced into the market, the prices of the originator biosimilar drop… but also the [price of the] competitors, the biosimilars themselves,” says Dr. Popovian

4:54: The complexity of determining patient benefits from biosimilar introductions on the U.S. marketplace

7:08: The PBMs will benefit the most from biosimilar introductions to the market although the exact amounts are difficult to estimate due to the lack of transparency with pharmacy benefit design

9:18: “I'm hoping that we will see that some biopharmaceutical company that is developing biosimilars is brave enough to come out and slash its average wholesale price, or retail price significantly, and draw attention from policymakers, patient advocacy groups, patients, and providers, and for us to put pressure on the PBMs to do the right thing,” says Dr. Popovian

11:40: In the U.S., a biosimilar with an “interchangeable” designation can be substituted for its reference product at the pharmacy, without additional approvals from the prescribing physician, state law permitting

12:34: “If you are substituted for a biosimilar and you're currently on a brand name drug, by law pharmacists are required to inform you upfront about the substitution,” says Dr. Popovian

14:34: “Knowledge is so much power when you live with a chronic condition that often… it feels like [your disease is] controlling you and I always feel like a way to take some of that power back is through knowledge, and just learning more about my condition,” Zoe Rothblatt, Associate Director of Community Outreach at GHLF

14:48: Zoe discusses the prospect of drug switching from a patient’s perspective

16:58: Will biosimilars have similar support programs as biologics do, and how can patients look into them?

18:51: Dr. Popovian shares some final thoughts

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For more information on the recent developments on biosimilars:

You can find the full report by Patients Rising on the significant developments in the biosimilar space and the impacts on patient access, affordability, and quality of care here:

https://accessandaffordability.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/2023-BioSimilars-Report-FINAL-01242023.pdf

“AbbVie's Humira Gets a U.S. Rival, but Costs Could Stay High” - Jan 31, 2023 (Reuters)

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/abbvies-humira-gets-us-rival-costs-could-stay-high-2023-01-31/

Contact Our Hosts

Dr. Robert Popovian, Chief Science Policy Officer at GHLF: [e-mail]

Conner Mertens, Patient Advocate and Community Outreach Manager at GHLF: [e-mail]

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