Pharma trade groups launch position paper on biosimilars switching

The European Biopharmaceutical Enterprises (EBE),The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) have today launched a position paper titled “Considerations for physicians on switching decisions regarding biosimilars.”

Switching describes a physician's decision to exchange one product that a patient receives for another. With the introduction of biosimilars, physicians may be encouraged to switch patients from an original biologic (reference product) to any of its biosimilars (or vice versa) in order to reduce costs.

The considerations take into account the unique characteristics of biologic medicines, which are capable of treating patients with highly complex diseases – and caution that switching stable patients is still nascent in practice. The three associations underscore the central role of the physician – together with the patient – in the decision-making process when it comes to providing the appropriate treatment for both naïve and disease-stable patients.