Most US and European physicians believe automatic substitution of biosimilars is a bad idea

Specialist physicians surveyed in the USA and Europe are generally opposed to pharmacy-level automatic substitution of branded biologics for biosimilars, according to the findings of BioTrends Research, a unit of advisory firm Decision Resources.

More than half of all surveyed specialists (rheumatologists, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, medical oncologists and hematologist-oncologists) say that automatic substitution is either an overall bad idea or they believe that it is only appropriate for specific biologic drug classes. According to primary research findings from the Biosimilars Advisory Service: Acceptance of Biosimilars Across Physician Specialties, a significantly greater proportion of German physicians believe that automatic substitution is an overall bad idea compared with surveyed physicians in France and the USA.

“Our quantitative research also highlights significant differences in physicians’ perception of automatic substitution of biosimilars for brands with respect to specialty,” said Biosimilars Advisory Service director Andrew Merron.