Gyawali Bishal
Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
Recenti Prog Med. 2017 Apr;108(4):172-174. doi: 10.1701/2681.27452.
Reducing the cost of biologics is an important avenue for addressing financial toxicity in oncology, one of the biggest challenges for health systems. The use of biosimilars, the cheaper alternatives to biologics, is an important strategy to that end. But the enthusiasm of developing biosimilars is meaningless if they get to the market, but they’re not prescribed by the physicians, concerned by unexpected side effects or inferior efficacy. A recent study found no differences between biosimilars and erythropoietin stimulating agents originators in the composite outcome including all-cause mortality, blood transfusion and major cardiovascular events. Such studies are important to allay the concerns of physicians and patients regarding the use of biosimilars. Physician and patient education, backed by clinical guidelines and patient advocacy groups, are the keys to improving the uptake of biosimilars in clinical practice.
降低生物制剂成本是解决肿瘤学中财务毒性问题的重要途径，而财务毒性是卫生系统面临的最大挑战之一。使用生物类似药作为生物制剂的廉价替代品，是实现这一目标的重要策略。但是，如果生物类似药进入市场却未被医生处方，因意外副作用或疗效不佳而受到关注，那么开发生物类似药的热情就毫无意义。最近一项研究发现，在包括全因死亡率、输血和主要心血管事件在内的综合结果方面，生物类似药与促红细胞生成素刺激剂原研药之间没有差异。此类研究对于减轻医生和患者对使用生物类似药的担忧很重要。在临床指南和患者倡导组织的支持下，对医生和患者进行教育是提高生物类似药在临床实践中使用率的关键。
