Dr. Shafaee on the Value of Biosimilars

Maryam Nemati Shafaee, MD, assistant professor, Duncan Cancer Center, Lester & Sue Smith Breast Cancer, Baylor College of Medicine, discusses the value of biosimilars in oncology.

If biosimilars are as effective as their originator biologic, they will be a great facet of oncology, explains Shafaee. They may also lower the costs of medications.

However, ensuring the equivalence of biosimilars to the originator biologic is a difficult assurance to give, says Shafaee. Recommending a biosimilar over a biologic may potentially put the oncologist in a difficult position, says Shafaee. Although biosimilars are put through a rigorous process in order to be FDA approved, they do not necessarily go through the same phases of clinical trials as the originator biologic. Shafaee states that it is this process upon which physicians rely to recommend therapy. To stray from that standard may be the cause for concern, explains Shafaee.

Although this is a difficult question, there have not been difficult questions that have not been answered before in the history of modern medicine, states Shafaee.