Dr. Bardia Discusses the Skepticism Regarding Biosimilars in Oncology

Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, director of Precision Medicine at the Center for Breast Cancer, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the skepticism regarding biosimilars in oncology.

Biosimilars should not be discounted despite the skepticism that surrounds their use, says Bardia. Financial toxicity is a significant problem in the field and needs to be addressed. Biosimilars are agents that could result in substantial savings across healthcare specialties. However, before they are brought to the market, they need to be studied thoroughly to prove that they have similar efficacy to their originator product.

If a biosimilar shows similar efficacy to the originator compound at a lower cost, it should be used all over the world, says Bardia. Their use in practice would likely have the greatest impact on developing countries where cost is a significant barrier to access. However, countries such as the United States and Europe could still stand to benefit from decreased healthcare costs, concludes Bardia.