Dr. Kwa on the Potential Impact of Biosimilars in Oncology

Maryann J. Kwa, MD, instructor, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, discusses the potential impact of biosimilars in oncology.

There is a lot of motivation in the field of oncology to decrease costs, says Kwa. Biosimilars can provide the medications that are easily accessible in the United States to other countries around the world that may not have access to the same standard of care. Biosimilars will soon become very important in reducing healthcare costs around the globe, explains Kwa.

Although filgrastim-sndz (Zarxio), a biosimilar for the G-CSF analog filgrastim (Neupogen), is the only biosimilar commonly used in oncology practice, Kwa is hopeful that more biosimilars will be adopted in the United States.

MYL-1401O (Ogivri; trastuzumab-dkst) is currently the only trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilar approved by the FDA. The biosimilar is indicated for HER2-positive patients with breast cancer or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, which are the same indications as trastuzumab.