Dr. Cristofanilli on the Need for Biosimilars in Oncology

Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, professor of medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, discusses the need for biosimilars in oncology.

The use of biosimilars is expected to increase as a result of rising drug costs and proven similarity, says Cristofanilli. Currently, biosimilars are a largely untapped resource that could help reduce the cost of cancer care. In order for these products to have a large impact on healthcare costs, they should be implemented on a global scale whereby patients could be treated irrespective of their insurance plans.

Notably, in December 2019, the trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilar Ogivri (MYL-1401O; trastuzumab-dkst) became the first oncologic biosimilar to launch in the United States. The agent is approved for use in all indications of the originator product, including the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer and metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.