Dr. Novik on the Adoption of Biosimilars in Breast Cancer

Yelena Novik, MD, associate professor, New York University’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, discusses the adoption of biosimilars in breast cancer.

Novik says that she is a big proponent of making drugs that will be accessible to all patients across the world. Filgrastim-sndz (Zarxio), a biosimilar for the G-CSF analog filgrastim (Neupogen), is the only biosimilar commonly used in oncology practice. Although, there have been some recent biosimilar approvals that have not entered practice yet. Some biosimilars have been approved in European regulatory societies and may at some point be approved the United States.

Having access to these agents can change the outcomes of patients with breast cancer who do not have access to the originator drug. It is a difficult subject as a whole, states Novik. In addition to pharmaceutical legislation and patent law, physicians want to be sure that biosimilars produce the same effect as the originator drug.

Although biosimilars must go through a rigorous process before approval, Novik states that the vast majority of her colleagues will vote for the adoption of biosimilars.