Canadian Biosimilar Trade Organization Announces Patient Support Program

Last week, Biosimilars Canada, a trade organization representing Canada’s biosimilar developers including Sandoz, Mylan, and Fresenius Kabi, among others, announced that it had chosen Innomar Strategies to be the preferred provider for the Biosimilars Canada Patient Support Program (PSP) platform.

Innomar Strategies, an AmerisourceBergen company, focuses on providing a balance between patient care and market access as it “continues to deliver innovative solutions to specialty manufacturers to improve product access, increase supply chain efficiency, and ultimately enhance patient care.”

The PSP platform will provide patient support services for members of Biosimilars Canada members that can be customized to meet the individual needs of the therapy, the biosimilar sponsor, and payer.

“The Biosimilars Canada PSP platform will be an important solution in ensuring biosimilar sponsors can provide high quality patient support services required by payers, physicians, and patients while providing value to the Canadian healthcare system,” said Jim Keon, president of Biosimilars Canada, in a statement.

To date, Health Canada has approved 12 biosimilar medicines now available on the market, though uptake has been somewhat slow, similar to what is seen in the US marketplace. Biosimilars Canada has surmised that the use of biosimilar medicines will increase more rapidly in 2019 as more biosimilars are launched, and as coverage policies evolve to include more biosimilar medications.

“The availability of biosimilar medicines in Canada helps to enhance competition, improve access to biologic medicines, and contribute to the financial sustainability of healthcare systems,” said Michel Robidoux, chair of Biosimilars Canada and president and general manager of Sandoz Canada.

According to Biosimilars Canada, the patient support platform will be launched in 2019.

“As more biosimilars come into the market, patients will need services built around these products to support them with their illness. By utilizing a centralized Patient Support Program model, healthcare providers, manufacturers and patients will experience efficiencies, while still having a best-in-class experience,” said Kevin West, vice president of Innomar Strategies.