US Biosimilar Uptake Challenges and the Quest for Cost-Savings
Key Insights
There was considerable excitement when biosimilar legislation was passed as part of the Affordable Care Act, hoping that biosimilars could reduce spending and overall healthcare costs. However, this hasn't materialized today due to structural and market forces within the healthcare system, which tend to preclude the realization of perceived healthcare cost-savings into reality.
Even though a few biosimilars have been approved, their adoption in the US market is rather anemic due to intellectual property challenges, pricing and contracting, payer controls, and incentives not being fully aligned to enable doctors and patients to utilize the biosimilars. Physician and patient awareness of these biosimilars continue to increase despite the lack of transparency and a broader understanding of healthcare economics.
Biosimilars must compete effectively with innovator biologic manufacturers on price, physician experiences, payer access, and patient access and support—some of these biosimilars have started capturing share as the market dynamics are becoming more favorable.
Biosimilars will ultimately capture a significant share of the US biologics market. Having said that, the path to a successful biosimilar adoption will continue to be challenging in these early stages as significant investments are required to show similarity and interchangeability to maximize their potential.
Author: Subbarao Jayanthi, Managing Partner
About RxC International
RxC International is a premier biopharma strategy consulting firm helping clients with growth strategies. The firm has deep expertise in new product planning and commercialization strategy. Our clients include leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around the world. The firm has offices in New Jersey and Massachusetts.
Featured in the Pharmaceutical Executive in Jan 2021