How Streamlining Development Can Save the US Biosimilar Industry

With US' market experience with biosimilars approaching a decade, industry experts are beginning to look into ways to accelerate biosimilar development to make more lower-cost products available to patients quicker. Strict regulatory guidelines require manufacturers to conduct numerous expensive and time-consuming preclinical and clinical trials to obtain approval and prove that biosimilars are safe and effective. However, research has shown that not all of these tests may be necessary anymore and there's might be ways to cut down on development spend without compromising safety.

A commentary paper written by 4 representatives from pharmaceutical companies sought to provide an unbiased perspective on this objective can be achieved, noting that extensive testing was needed when biosimilars were new but approval requirements should be updated as the industry gains new information.

Today, I'm joined by Julie Reed, executive director of the Biosimilars Forum, a nonprofit organization aimed at the advancement of biosimilar adoption through collaboration with biosimilar manufacturers. The companies that the paper's authors represent (Samsung Bioepis, Sandoz, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Fresenius Kabi) are all members of the Forum and our discussion with Reed will highlight some of the major pieces from the paper and next steps for the industry to propel biosimilar development into the future.

Show notes

To read CFB's analysis of the paper, click here.

To view the full version of the paper, click here.

To register for the FDA's workshop on streamlining biosimilar development, click here.

To learn more about the Biosimilars Forum and its members, click here.

To read the IQVIA report cited in the paper, click here.