In October, ASBM recorded the latest entry in its ongoing continuing education (CE) series in partnership with the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. This course module, entitled “Patient Perspectives on Biosimilars”, represents part 6 of the 7-part series covering a wide range of biosimilar policy issues. In this module, participants will hear different perspectives from the […]
ASBM’s recent survey of 401 U.S. physicians was featured in the October issue of the journal Oncology Practice Management. The article discussed a poster presentation given by ASBM Chairman Ralph McKibbin, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF at the Drug Information Association Global Annual Meeting (DIA 2022) on June 20th, in Chicago, IL. View the poster here. The survey findings consistently […]
On October 18th, ASBM participated in the World Health Organization’s 75th Consultation on International Non-proprietary Names (INN) for Pharmaceutical Substances, held in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the nineteenth INN Consultation in which ASBM has participated. ASBM was represented by Executive Director Michael Reilly, Esq., and Advisory Board Chair Philip Schneider, MS, FASHP. The proceedings at […]
On October 19th, ASBM Advisory Board Chair Philip Schneider participated in the 7th Annual National Policy & Advocacy Summit on Biologics, The event was hosted in Washington, DC by the Biologics Prescribers Collaborative and was also streamed online. Professor Schneider appeared on the opening panel discussion entitled “The Emerging Biologics Landscape”, which also featured Chad Pettit, Executive Director […]
On October 12, ASBM Immediate Past Chair Madelaine Feldman, MD, FACR participated in a forum held by STAT, entitled “Biosimilars’ Meteoric Moment”. The forum focused on the long-awaited arrival of multiple adalimumab biosimilars in 2023 and asked experts from a variety of fields to speculate on what 2023 holds for the biosimilars market. Speakers included: Madelaine A. […]
World Sight Day is observed worldwide every year on the second Thursday of October. This World Health Organization-designated day falls on 13 October this year. The purpose of World Sight Day is to increase public awareness about blindness, vision impairment, vision care, and ocular issues. The WHO estimates that 1 billion people worldwide suffer from […]
On October 4-5, 2022 ASBM Advisory Board Chair Philip Schneider participated in the World Drug Safety Congress Americas 2022, held in Boston, MA. The annual pharmacovigilance (PV) conference bills itself as “the largest commercial gathering of PV professionals in the world. During the two-day conference, Prof. Schneider chaired both the Global PV Track and Advanced Therapies […]
In August, ASBM recorded two new entries in its ongoing continuing education (CE) series in partnership with the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. These represent part 4 and 6 of the 7-part series covering a wide range of biosimilar policy issues. View the previous three entries here. Module 4: Physician Perspectives on Biosimilars In this module, […]
In October, ASBM recorded the latest entry in its ongoing continuing education (CE) series in partnership with the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. This course module, entitled “Patient Perspectives on Biosimilars”, represents part 6 of the 7-part series covering a wide range of biosimilar policy issues. In this module, participants will hear different perspectives from the […]
ASBM’s recent survey of 401 U.S. physicians was featured in the October issue of the journal Oncology Practice Management. The article discussed a poster presentation given by ASBM Chairman Ralph McKibbin, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF at the Drug Information Association Global Annual Meeting (DIA 2022) on June 20th, in Chicago, IL. View the poster here. The survey findings consistently […]
In October, Amgen released its full 2022 Biosimilar Trends Report. The report’s findings had been previewed earlier this year by Amgen’s Global Biosimilars Commercial Lead, Chad Pettit at a June 29th webinar hosted by ASBM and GaBI Journal. View the webinar “Key Factors for Successful Uptake of Biosimilar Markets” here. Read GaBI Journal’s Meeting Report here. The full report […]
On October 19th, ASBM Advisory Board Chair Philip Schneider participated in the 7th Annual National Policy & Advocacy Summit on Biologics, The event was hosted in Washington, DC by the Biologics Prescribers Collaborative and was also streamed online. Professor Schneider appeared on the opening panel discussion entitled “The Emerging Biologics Landscape”, which also featured Chad Pettit, Executive Director […]
On October 18th, ASBM participated in the World Health Organization’s 75th Consultation on International Non-proprietary Names (INN) for Pharmaceutical Substances, held in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the nineteenth INN Consultation in which ASBM has participated. ASBM was represented by Executive Director Michael Reilly, Esq., and Advisory Board Chair Philip Schneider, MS, FASHP. The proceedings at […]
World Sight Day is observed worldwide every year on the second Thursday of October. This World Health Organization-designated day falls on 13 October this year. The purpose of World Sight Day is to increase public awareness about blindness, vision impairment, vision care, and ocular issues. The WHO estimates that 1 billion people worldwide suffer from […]
Biologic medicines are used to treat millions of patients with serious illnesses like cancer, arthritis, and psoriasis. The patents for many biologic therapies are expiring, and biosimilars are entering the marketplace. These give patients new treatment options, and reduce costs through competition. Regulatory authorities around the world have put policies in place to ensure that biosimilars have been appropriately tested, and are safe and effective for patients.
Non-Medical Switching
Non-Medical Switching is when a patient is switched from one biologic medicine (either an originator product or a biosimilar) to another product- not for reasons of health or safety but for economic reasons. This is often done by a third party such as a private insurer, a pharmacy-benefit manager, or a government agency in order to save money, increase profits, or because of a deal made with a particular manufacturer. This practice is controversial among patients and physicians because treatment decisions are not "one size fits all". Many patients try several biologic medicines until they find one that stabilizes their condition; physicians generally oppose the unnecessary switching of medicines for stable patients.
The Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines is an organization composed of diverse healthcare groups and individuals—from patients to physicians, biotechnology companies that develop innovative and biosimilar medicines and others who are working together to ensure patient safety is at the forefront of the biosimilars policy discussion.
