The
New York Times recently reported that it is unlikely that costly
biologic drugs – such as Avonex
for multiple sclerosis, or Avastin
for cancer – will have less expensive generic versions (biosimilars) available
any time soon, and even when generics appear on the market the savings may not
be all that significant.
In June 2009, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report entitled, “Follow-on
Biologic Drug Competition.” In this report, the FTC evaluated whether or not follow-on biologics
(“generic” or biosimilar drugs) would cause price competition with innovator
biologic drugs. As one of its conclusions, the FTC determined that giving
the FDA the authority to approve biosimilar drugs via an abbreviated pathway
may result in efficiently bringing these drugs to market and increasing
competition with biologic drugs.
There is so much debate over potential legislation, however,
that it is uncertain how much of an improvement, if any, will come of it.
While some biologics have been on the market for a long time and may see
biosimilar competition in the nearer-term – the patent on Amgen’s anemia drug Epogen,
for example, is due to expire in 2013 – the fact is that biologics will likely
be safe from competition for much longer.
In the meantime, the best things patients can do are 1) make
sure they have chosen the best
possible health plan for their needs, and 2) compare prices of all their drugs across all pharmacies to find the least
costly options. Although biosimilars or “generics” do not yet exist for
biologics, comparable branded biologics may be available at a lower cost. In an
effort to help patients work with their doctors, drug pricing comparisons and lower cost drug options of common chronic
medicines as well as some biologic drugs are available through the Drug Compare Tool and other DestinationRx solutions.
~ Janie Kim, PharmD
Director, Clinical Services
