By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cybersecurity
    4 Helpful Tips on How to Protect Your Medical Practice Against Cyber Attacks
    October 24, 2021
    Health Check Diagnosis Medical Condition Analysis Concept
    6 Health Woes With Online Remedies
    January 19, 2022
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    April 24, 2022
    Latest News
    How to Recognize the Signs of Hormonal Imbalance in Men
    May 27, 2023
    4 Signs It’s Time to See a Therapist
    May 24, 2023
    11 Ways To Modernize Your Private Practice
    May 17, 2023
    Important Steps to Take for Scaling A Biopharma Product
    May 2, 2023
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    The Downside of Japanese Health Care
    September 21, 2011
    Treating Tumors, Not Patients
    May 15, 2013
    European Obesity Drug and Device Markets
    November 14, 2011
    Latest News
    MRI Sedation Options: What You Should Know Before Screening
    May 17, 2023
    What is the Process of Creating Medicine from Nature?
    May 2, 2023
    Choosing the Right Treatment Option for Varicose Veins
    May 2, 2023
    What Are Wrong-Site Surgeries and How Do They Occur?
    April 27, 2023
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Biosimilars are “me-too” drugs, not generics
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Aa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Aa
Search
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Technology > Medical Innovations > Biosimilars are “me-too” drugs, not generics
Medical Innovations

Biosimilars are “me-too” drugs, not generics

DavidEWilliams
Last updated: 2016/05/12 at 1:31 PM
DavidEWilliams
Share
3 Min Read
SHARE
ID-100261456

Time to take off the blinders

ID-100261456

Time to take off the blinders

More Read

AI helps healthcare providers with record keeping through the use of medical code extraction

Medical Code Extraction Using Artificial Intelligence

Maximizing Outcomes Through Effective Patient Engagement Strategies
Materials and Techniques for Taking Dental Impressions
How Technology Tools Can Benefit Physicians and Patients
Breakthroughs in Gene Targeting in Mouse Can Help Humans

Generic drugs are the biggest success story in healthcare cost containment. This great success has fooled policymakers, journalists, health plans and others into thinking that the same model will tame spending on biologic drugs the same way it has for traditional, chemical based products.

The latest example can be found in the Wall Street Journal (Knockoffs of Biotech Drugs Bring Paltry Savings). The article blames the lack of savings on price increases by makers of the original products in the run-up to the introduction of competing products. That is happening, but it doesn’t get to the root cause of the situation.

The traditional generic market is about as close as the healthcare industry gets to economists’ fantasy world of perfect competition where there is no differentiation among products, there are a large number of producers, and buyers understand that the products are all the same. As a result, prices trend toward marginal cost and it is not uncommon to see price reductions of 90 percent or more. Sometimes it’s 99 percent.

Biotech is very different. The “generic” products are not generic at all, rather they are close but not exact copies that cannot be freely substituted for one another. The number of producers will be small because they must go through the expense of clinical trials. And if the companies are smart (they are) they will do their best to make sure buyers realize there are differences among the products. One clue is that the products are referred to as biosimilars not biogenerics.

As I’ve been writing for ten years, this doesn’t sound like the market for generic drugs. Rather it’s much more like the “me-too” phenomenon we saw in the 90s with blockbuster categories such as statins. When Lipitor came in as the fifth statin on the market it didn’t advertise itself as cheaper and undifferentiated. Rather it used clever trial design and sales and marketing tactics to climb to the top of the pile.

Why wouldn’t a biosimilar try the same approach if possible? So far new entrants are pricing themselves a bit lower than the original product but if they can come up with better data from a trial why not make the price higher instead?

If we take off our generics blinders we can come up with ways to control costs while encouraging innovation. Since 2006 (A better idea than biogenerics) I’ve suggested regulating the price of biotech drugs once their patents expire. I still think it’s a good idea.

Image courtesy of iosphere at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

—

By healthcare business consultant David E. Williams, president of Health Business Group.

TAGGED: biosimilars, generic drugs, pharmaceuticals

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
DavidEWilliams May 12, 2016
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Copy Link Print
Share
Previous Article Lessons on Building a Great Ortho Team from The Avengers
Next Article Medtech is Dead. Long Live Medtech.

Stay Connected

1.5k Followers Like
4.5k Followers Follow
2.8k Followers Pin
136k Subscribers Subscribe

Latest News

How to Recognize the Signs of Hormonal Imbalance in Men
How to Recognize the Signs of Hormonal Imbalance in Men
Health May 27, 2023
nursing trends and predictions
Biggest Nursing Trends and Predictions for 2023
Nursing May 25, 2023
medical answering service
How Medical Answering Services Can Improve Patient Care
Technology May 25, 2023
healthy parenting
4 Ways Parents Can Raise a Healthy and Happy Child
Parenting May 25, 2023

You Might also Like

medical interpreters
Medical Innovations

The Vital Role of Medical Interpreting Services In Healthcare

April 21, 2023
virtual reality in optometry
Technology

Virtual Reality Visual Field Test Device in Healthcare

March 22, 2023
benefits of EHR systems in healthcare
Technology

Using EHR systems in healthcare for Cost-Effective Services

February 9, 2023
healthcare seo tips
Medical Innovations

Healthcare SEO Tips to Grow Your Medical Practice

February 8, 2023
//

We influence million of users and is the most authentic source of information on healthcare business and technology news.

Quick Links

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Subscribe

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Follow US

© 2008-2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?