Biosimilar medicines are increasingly relevant to public health as emphasised by the new Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe. The latest Biosimilar Market Review provides a comprehensive overview of policies in 26 European countries focusing on availability, pricing systems, retail markets, hospital tendering, reimbursement systems, healthcare practitioner-related policies, information and education.
Since the first approval of a biosimilar medicine in 2006, we have accumulated over 2 billion patient treatment days in Europe alone, transforming treatment by enabling smart reinvestment of healthcare resources in better access to biological treatments while contributing to the sustainability of European healthcare budgets.
While there are still gaps in access across Europe, biosimilar medicine competition has massively increased the number of patients that can be treated. A recent IQVIA report on The Impact of Biosimilar Competition in Europe, highlighted the critical role that biosimilar medicines will play in the future as many more biological medicines are set to lose market (IP) exclusivity. This should compel the EU and member states to implement efficient, goal-oriented biosimilar medicine policies to improve patient access and healthcare sustainability. This should be based on highly successful benefit-sharing models that have proven the ability to stimulate competition and uptake.
Commenting on the launch of the Biosimilar Market Review Kelly Burke, chair of the biosimilar market access committee of Medicines for Europe said: “The Biosimilar Market Review is an important resource for stakeholders and policy-makers interested in improving access to biological therapies. While progress has been made, it is clear much more can be done to leverage benefit-sharing for better access for patients and for a more sustainable healthcare.”
The 2020 Biosimilar market review can be accessed here.