Prescribing habits for biosimilars will depend on robust clinical trials and manufacturer reputation

Physicians across six different specialties expect that they will base prescribing decisions for biosimilars on the robustness and number of clinical trials that a biosimilar has gone through, according to Decision Resources Group.

The organization surveyed experts from medical oncology, hematology-oncology, rheumatology, gastroenterology, endocrinology and nephrology on how they will deal with decision-making around new biosimilar therapies.

Among European oncologists and nephrologists who prescribe biosimilars, the majority have a preferred biosimilar product, and this preference is motivated by which manufacturer they trust most. The surveyed doctors also expressed greater trust in large manufacturers such as Amgen than in small-molecule generics companies. Responses to the survey also highlighted the degree to which the uptake of biosimilars will vary by country, therapeutic speciality and molecular complexity.