by Helen Collis
LONDON, Feb 2 (APM) - Biosimilars launched in Europe over the next five years could save payers up to 33 billion euros, according to Hospira’s head of biologicals.
Paul Greenland, vice president of biologics for the company said: “Some of the early research is that the cost savings in the larger European markets between now and 2020 could be as big as 33 billion euros and the low estimate is 11 billion euros for that period.”
This saving would be if all patients receiving an out-of-patent biological were instead taking a biosimilar version, he told APM in a recent telephone interview.
“This doesn’t take into consideration if lower cost biologics would expand the use of the products within the market or change the treatment guideline pathway. So theoretically there could be a greater impact,” he added.
Prices of biosimilars are yet to be decided, however, but Greenland said they were likely to be around 20-30% less than originator biologicals.
He also said patients are likely to have greater access to biologicals, thanks to cheaper biosimilars, but said, while countries’ health systems varied, net costs for using more of the biosimilar product were likely lower.
“Certainly we have seen in some markets an increase in volume and a decrease in cost,” he said.
The size of the forecast savings from biosimilars, however, assumes every patient is switched from the original to a biosimilar version.
While Norway is conducting its own independent switching study from Remicade (infliximab) to a biosimilar (APMMA 40770), there are no plans anywhere to automatically switch patients on biologicals to biosimilars at the pharmacy level, as is seen in many countries for generics.
But other cost savings will be generated by biosmilars’ launch, Greenland said.
“The great thing that biosimilars do is increase competition in markets where otherwise biosimilars wouldn’t exist. So initially we are going to see price reductions (of competing products), and once we have got price reductions, then there are benefits to both patients and healthcare. Great access to patients, improved quality use of medicines and also cost savings would be the desired outcome.”
Greenland said this effect had already been seen following the launch of the company’s biosimilar filgrastim (G-CSF), a neutropaenia treatment, in Europe.
“G-CSF use substantially increased but with a reduction in cost - partly because of the introduction of the biosimilars, but in some markets it also had an effect on the price of other products that are not biosimilars.
“So it has a knock on effect on other non-biosimilars; we have seen an effect where other products in a similar class have also reduced price, similar to another biosimilar.”
Savings from adopting biosimilars will only be made, however, if doctors are aware of and understand the products - a job the biosimilar industry is currently centring its efforts.
As Dr Steiner Madsen, medical director at the Norwegian Medicines Agency (NoMA) said recently, 2015/16 will be the “acid test” for these products. (APMMA 40770)
Greenland underlined that, unlike generics, biosimilars companies incurred subsequently high commercialisation costs.
He said the costs of developing a biosimilar - which includes Phase I and Phase III trials - is in the region of 70 million to 150 million euros.
“The actual development costs for a biosimilar are not much lower than the costs for an originator given the only difference is the cost of not doing the Phase II study,” he said, adding that there were additional development costs for indications where the originator has no licence.
“Getting the biosimilar on the market is costly … These aren’t directly substitutable at the pharmacy level so you can’t rely on pharmacy substitution to drive the product as you can with a generic.
“The main decision maker is the clinician so we need field teams in medical affairs and sales to convince clinicians that biosimilars are the right option for their patients and they are aware of all the data supporting their development.”
He said in Hospira’s case, the company was prepared for Inflectra’s launch since it has established European sales teams since it launched its first biosimilar, Retacrit (epoetin zeta) in 2008, “so we are not starting from scratch and we are building on what we have had for the last seven years in Europe”.
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