Celltrion highlights potential for biosimilars in US and EU

South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Healthcare (KRX: 068270) outlined its vision of ‘shaping future healthcare by improving access to biosimilars’ at the 5th Annual Biosimilars USA Conference in New Jersey, USA.

According to data provided by IQVIA, biosimilars could lead to cumulative savings of up to $107 billion by 2020 in the USA and the top five European Union (EU) countries. The EU has made significant progress in unlocking the potential of biosimilars through continuous education of providers, payers and patients. This has been critical to EU biosimilar acceptance but has not been seen in the US, which has lagged behind.

During a presentation on the opportunities and challenges presented by the use of biosimilars in the USA, Celltrion highlighted several challenges affecting the uptake of biosimilars within the US market. Both physicians and patients there lack confidence in biosimilars due to a low level of education and awareness. According to a survey, 67% of patients said they were “unaware” of biosimilars and 70% selected “no” as a response to the statement “is a biosimilar is safe?” Compounding this lack of understanding are anti-biosimilar campaigns running in the USA which are increasing the negative public perception of biosimilars. In addition, legal battles like patent litigation have restricted uptake of biosimilars and have hindered progress in the USA, the company stated.