摘要
Biosimilars are a growing drug class designed to be used interchangeably with biologics.Biologics are cr-eated in living cells and are typically large,complex pr-oteins that may have a variety of uses.Within the field of gastroenterology alone,biologics are used to treat inflammatory bowel diseases,cancers,and endocrine disorders.While biologics have proven to be effective in treating or managing many diseases,patient acce-ss is often limited by high costs.The development of biosimilars is an attempt to reduce treatment costs.Biosimilars must be nearly identical to their reference biologics in terms of efficacy,side effect risk profile,and immunogenicity.Although the manufacturing process still involves production within living cells,biosimilars undergo fewer clinical trials than do their reference biologics.This ultimately reduces the cost of production and the cost of the biosimilar drug compared to its reference biologic.Currently,seven biosimilars have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration(FDA)for use in Crohn’s disease,ulcerative colitis,and colorectal cancer.There are other biologics involved in treating gastroenterologic diseases for which there are no FDA approved biosimilars.Although biosimilars have the po-tential to reduce healthcare costs in chronic disease management,they face challenges in establishing a sig-nificant market share.Physician comfort in prescribing reference biologics instead of biosimilars and patient reluctance to switch from a biologic to a biosimilar are two common contributing factors to biosimilars’slow in-crease in use.More time will be needed for biosimilars to establish a larger and more consistent market share compared to their reference biologics.Additional da-ta confirming the safety and efficacy of biosimilars,increased number of available biosimilars,and further cost reduction of biosimilars will all be necessary to im-prove physician confidence in biosimilars and patient comfort with biosimilars.
Biosimilars are a growing drug class designed to be used interchangeably with biologics.Biologics are cr-eated in living cells and are typically large,complex pr-oteins that may have a variety of uses.Within the field of gastroenterology alone,biologics are used to treat inflammatory bowel diseases,cancers,and endocrine disorders.While biologics have proven to be effective in treating or managing many diseases,patient acce-ss is often limited by high costs.The development of biosimilars is an attempt to reduce treatment costs.Biosimilars must be nearly identical to their reference biologics in terms of efficacy,side effect risk profile,and immunogenicity.Although the manufacturing process still involves production within living cells,biosimilars undergo fewer clinical trials than do their reference biologics.This ultimately reduces the cost of production and the cost of the biosimilar drug compared to its reference biologic.Currently,seven biosimilars have been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration(FDA)for use in Crohn’s disease,ulcerative colitis,and colorectal cancer.There are other biologics involved in treating gastroenterologic diseases for which there are no FDA approved biosimilars.Although biosimilars have the po-tential to reduce healthcare costs in chronic disease management,they face challenges in establishing a sig-nificant market share.Physician comfort in prescribing reference biologics instead of biosimilars and patient reluctance to switch from a biologic to a biosimilar are two common contributing factors to biosimilars’slow in-crease in use.More time will be needed for biosimilars to establish a larger and more consistent market share compared to their reference biologics.Additional da-ta confirming the safety and efficacy of biosimilars,increased number of available biosimilars,and further cost reduction of biosimilars will all be necessary to im-prove physician confidence in biosimilars and patient comfort with biosimilars.
