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What will the future bring for the Biosimilars Market?
Published Date: 29 Jun 2022

In recent years, rapid developments in the healthcare sector have offered plenty of new treatments & drugs to address different illnesses. However, one might find it difficult to afford such drugs, especially when it comes to severely prevailing diseases like cancer. As the number of cancer patients is rapidly growing across different countries worldwide, the demand for effective and safe diagnosis & treatments is upsurging rapidly. 

However, factors like the high cost associated with the procurement of drugs are restraining a prominent number of patients from getting appropriate treatment. However, various biopharmaceutical companies are conducting rigorous research & development activities on procuring affordable, safe, & effective therapeutics. It, in turn, is leading to the mounting popularity of biosimilars worldwide, based on which a research report has cited around 17% CAGR for the Global Biosimilars Market during 2022-27.  

Biosimilars are medicines that have very similar structures & functions to that biologic medicine. A biologic drug is made in a living organism like bacteria, yeast, or animal cells and is used in the treatment of different types of cancer in multiple ways, like:

  • Enabling the immune system of the body to identify & kill cancer more effectively
  • Working against a few proteins on cancer cells to restrain their growth
  • Helping the body to make more blood cells and replace the ones, which were lost during the treatment of cancer

Among different types of therapies for Cancer, drugs used in Immunotherapy & Targeted Therapy are mainly biologics. It, in turn, is generating growth opportunities for prominent biopharmaceutical companies to develop Biosimilars exhibiting similar structures to biologic. Since Biosimilars pretty much behave the same way as the biologics, there are barely any differences, which makes them as safe & effective as biologics. 

Now that the aspects of Biologics & Biosimilars are defined in the blog so far, let us learn a little about Generic Drugs & take a look at the prominent reasons why people often get confused between these & Biosimilars. 

How Biosimilars are different from Generic Drugs?

The term "Generic Drugs" has become quite common today. These drugs are nothing but a true replication of a brand-based drug. Generic medications work the same way as branded drugs do & are considered an equal substitute for treating the same disease. 

Biosimilars can be considered a generic version of a biological drug yet exhibit a few differences. Unlike generic drugs and Biosimilars are not the exact copies of the brand drugs. If you are intrigued, let us go through the following pointers to learn about the similarities & differences between generic drugs & Biosimilars below and attain clarity on the same. 

Similarities

  • Tested & compare with the brand drug in theories
  • Brand drugs from which these Biosimilars & generic drugs are compared were already approved by regulatory bodies like Food & Drug Association (FDA). 
  • Both have to undergo thorough yet shortened FDA reviews. 
  • Both is as safe & effective as the brand drug.
  • Both might offer less expensive treatment options than brand drugs.

Differences:

  • While Biosimilars are made from biological/natural sources, generic drugs are chemical-based. 
  • Biosimilars have the same effect in many ways as brand drugs, while generic drugs are the exact copies.  
  • FDA requires greater information to compare Biosimilars with brand drugs, but not for generic drugs
  • Biosimilars & generic drugs have different parameters for FDA approvals.
  • After approvals, Biosimilars also need special approvals to get interchangeable considerations with the brand drugs, while generic drugs are automatically substituted with the brand drugs. 

After understanding the core similarities & differences between generic drugs & Biosimilars, what really hits the mid is the safety of using such drugs as substitutions. Thus, let us stick with the blog until the end to find out more about the safety of Biosimilars. 

The Safety of Biosimilars

When it comes to medications, the primary concern remains on how safe the drugs are. However, one should rest assured that the biosimilar drugs offered to the patients are tested and undergo rigorous clinical trials & reviewed before getting approvals for commercialization. 

In various clinical trials, Biosimilars are compared to the original biologic drug, as it was already approved. In the case of the Biosimilars, these drugs are tested thoroughly by treating the same disease for which the brand drug is used to observe its effectiveness & safety. 

As strict as these review procedures are, these tests can also move quickly in clinical trials, being a substitute to the brand drug, which already passed the FDA approvals. Besides, when the biosimilar drugs are under study, they are tested the same way as brand drugs to procure information about the medicines in the following aspects:

  • Source of Making
  • Dosage & Strength
  • Mode of Drug Delivery
  • Same Benefits in Treatment
  • Possible Side-Effects

After obtaining these & other information, the regulatory bodies closely review the Biosimilars just to be sure of the safety & effectiveness of the brand drugs and then provide the approval. Therefore, once the regulatory body has approved drugs, one must rest assured about the safety of the drugs. 

A few Biosimilar exhibiting approvals from the Food & Drugs Association (FDA) of the US for different cancer treatments include the following:

  • Herzuma
  • Kanjinti
  • Mvasi
  • Nivestym
  • Reiko 
  • Trazimera
  • Truxima
  • Zarxio
  • Zirabev

The Significantly Expanding Biosimilars Industry: Next Steps

By far, the blog has shed light on the various aspects that might at times confuse people while learning about different types of medicine available for the treatment of diseases like cancer and the reasons why Biosimilars are swiftly gaining momentum.

Besides, as the patient influx of cancer is increasing day by day, the governments are becoming more supportive in offering funds & imposing favorable policies for the research, development, production, and clinical trials of Biosimilars.

These initiatives are principal to offer affordable, safe, and effective therapies and cater to the unmet requirements of the patients. Hence, the Global Biosimilars market is anticipated to witness a substantial growth and demonstrate the presence of lucrative opportunities for the leading players during the forecast period.

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