New Study: Biosimilars Earn the Trust of Health Insurers

This week, Avalere Health published new research that found 81% of health insurers are covering at least one of the two biosimilar products currently on the market in the United States. It’s no surprise that the biosimilar’s lower cost relative to the reference product was a key decision-making factor for nearly all payers. Like generic drugs, which saved the U.S. health care system $227 billion dollars in 2015, biosimilars have the potential to increase competition in the market, which will help lower the cost of biologic medicines and increase patient access to biopharmaceutical advances that increase the quality and length of their lives.

In addition, health insurers cited efficacy and safety of the biosimilar as important factors for coverage decisions. Biosimilars are subject to rigorous testing and review by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as well as monitoring after they are made available to patients in the U.S., giving confidence to patients and providers.

“Biosimilars were intended to increase competition among biologics and potentially reduce drug costs, but the biosimilars market has been slow to develop in the U.S.,” said Tom Kraus, senior vice president at Avalere. “The growth of the biosimilar market will be measured as policy, market, and intellectual property related challenges continue to be addressed.”

If you’re interested in learning more about biosimilars, join us at our annual conference, Leading on Biosimilars. Reserve your spot here: http://biosimilarscouncil.org/leading-on-biosimilars

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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.accesiblemeds.org.