Mark Cziraky, PharmD, CLS: Biosimilar Utilization

Mark Cziraky, PharmD, CLS, vice president of research for Healthcore, explains why biosimilar utilization in the United States is low.

Transcript:

Are there gaps in knowledge about biosimilars that are impacting decision-making by stakeholders?

I think we’re not seeing the utilization because there’s not a lot marketed yet, so it’s tough to see what’s happening out there in the marketplace after you get real-world use of these products. From a standpoint of the approvals and the trials, you know they’re of course safe and effective from the standpoint of being biosimilars. The other piece of it is there may be some concerns about safety and the immunogenicity, but I don’t believe that’s having a significant impact on the use currently. It’s really just the amount that are available for use. Also, again, because there’s not a lot of competition in the marketplace, the ability to see significant cost-reductions that is hoped by these therapies has not yet been reached.