Okoro Roland Nnaemeka
Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Administration, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Nigeria.
Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm. 2021 Apr 7;1:100008. doi: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2021.100008. eCollection 2021 Mar.
The introduction of biological medicines has revolutionized the management of chronic diseases. Due to the high cost of biological medicine coupled with the fact that patents of many of these medicines are on the verge of expiration, manufacturers are exploring the production of biosimilars. The introduction of biosimilars has the capacity to increase competition among manufacturers, reduce prices, and improve patient access to these medicines. Therefore, a biosimilar is a new wave in therapy and treatment for the next few years. Despite the growing number of biosimilars approved for patient care, physicians' comfort in prescribing reference products against biosimilars and patient reluctance to switch from a reference product to a biosimilar are the major barriers for biosimilar increasing use. This paper aims to highlight the role of the clinical pharmacist (CP) in the utilization of biosimilars and the need for a pharmacy specialty regarding biosimilars. Of all the healthcare providers, CP has the most holistic view of the biosimilar products' clinical profile, and logistical and supply chain considerations. Thus, CPs are uniquely positioned to better educate all biosimilar medicine key stakeholders in an effort to increase access and rational use.
生物药物的引入彻底改变了慢性病的管理方式。由于生物药物成本高昂，且许多此类药物的专利即将到期，制造商们正在探索生物类似药的生产。生物类似药的引入能够增加制造商之间的竞争、降低价格，并改善患者获得这些药物的机会。因此，生物类似药在未来几年将成为治疗领域的一股新潮流。尽管获批用于患者治疗的生物类似药数量不断增加，但医生在开具参照产品而非生物类似药时的顾虑以及患者不愿从参照产品转向生物类似药，是生物类似药使用增加的主要障碍。本文旨在强调临床药师（CP）在生物类似药使用中的作用以及设立生物类似药药学专业的必要性。在所有医疗保健提供者中，临床药师对生物类似药产品的临床特征、后勤和供应链方面的考虑有着最全面的了解。因此，临床药师具有独特的地位，能够更好地对生物类似药的所有关键利益相关者进行教育，以增加药物可及性并促进合理使用。
