The use of biosimilar treatments is increasing, according to surveys conducted in 2018 and 2020 of rheumatologists from eight countries. In the two-year period, Japan had the largest increase in biosimilar prescriptions, with only 6% of surveyed rheumatologists reporting they prefer prescribing originator biologic agents.... [Read More]
Fear of injection decreased when patients with RA switched from self-administering a treatment biosimilar to etanercept in a prefilled syringe to an injector pen, according to a small observational study.... [Read More]
As the U.S. and other patents for branded denosumab products get closer to expiring, drug manufacturers are initiating clinical trials for more affordable, biosimilar versions of the treatment.... [Read More]
In a recent study, researchers designed an intervention centered on communication and led by nurses to address discontinuation rates among patients who had switched to a biosimilar. The nurses’ insight and experience reduced the nocebo effect during the intervention, which had an 84% retention rate for patients taking a biosimilar after one year.... [Read More]
Clinical trials of biosimilar treatments, including a phase 1 study of SB17, which is biosimilar to ustekinumab, and two phase 3 studies investigating of SB16, which is biosimilar to denosumab, are currently recruiting.... [Read More]
The FDA has approved anakinra to treat a rare autoinflammatory disease, deficiency of interleukin 1 receptor antagonist. The administration also approved a new rituximab biosimilar, Riabni, for multiple indications.... [Read More]
Researchers found half of patients taking the biosimilar infliximab-dyyb (Inflectra) remained highly adherent to medication use after 12 months.... [Read More]
As of Oct. 1, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) requires that patients fail to respond to both FDA-approved rituximab biosimilars prior to receiving approval for rituximab. Exception: Rituximab-pvvr (Ruxience) is not FDA approved for rheumatoid arthritis.... [Read More]
In a new study, Baker et al. examined reference product and biosimilar orders, comparing data from a Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) to those from an academic medical center… ... [Read More]
As useful stand-ins for biologics targeting a range of inflammatory diseases, biosimilars have made significant inroads across Europe as less expensive alternatives. Denmark, for example, realized a cost savings of 64% after instituting a mandatory national switch from the originator infliximab to its biosimilar counterpart. In the U.S., however, a considerably smaller fraction of rheumatologists… [Read More]