November 7, 2016
Harry L. Gewanter, MD, FAAP, FACR Chairman, ASBM Since becoming involved with ASBM on the Medical Advisory Board and, more recently, as Chairman, I’ve learned a great deal about biosimilars. Being a pediatrician, I have found that analogies are an extraordinarily helpful means to explain complex issues. This video has proven to be an […]
October 20, 2016
On October 20th, representatives from the patient, physician, and pharmacist communities joined manufacturers of innovator biologics and biosimilars to discuss reauthorization of the Biosimilars User Fee Act (BsUFA). BsUFA is a five-year agreement between FDA and stakeholders that finances the FDA’s review of biosimilars through fees paid by biosimilar sponsors. It is set to expire […]
October 19, 2016
On October 18th, in Geneva, Switzerland, ASBM President Doug Badger and Advisory Board Chair Philip Schneider, MS, FASHP participated in the World Health Organization’s 63rd Stakeholder Consultation on International Nonproprietary Names. The subject of the INN meeting is the continued development of the INN Programme’s Biologic Qualifier (BQ) proposal. The is a modification to the INN system designed […]
October 12, 2016
On October 12th, in Toronto, Ontario, ASBM participated in an educational webinar for the Ontario Hospital Association, which represents 150 hospitals in the Canadian province. ASBM Executive Director Michael Reilly participated on a panel with Canadian physicians, patients, and industry representatives. Around 100 attendees were present. Mr. Reilly discussed the state of biosimilar uptake […]
September 28, 2016
SÁO PAULO, BRAZIL- The Latin American Chapter of the Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines (ASBM) and the Global Colon Cancer Association (GCCA) today participated in a biologics and biosimilars forum in Sáo Paulo, Brazil. The chapter is comprised of eight patient organizations representing a variety of disease groups including multiple forms of cancer, hepatitis, and […]
September 21, 2016
By Michael Reilly, Executive Director, ASBM To date, the FDA has approved three biosimilars. The first, Zarxio (filgrastim-sndz), used a meaningful, memorable suffix based on the manufacturers name (Sandoz). The second two use the random suffixes “-dyyb” and “-szzs” which mean, well, nothing. ASBM’s surveys have shown that physicians (78%) and pharmacists (85%) support memorable […]
September 15, 2016
On September 15th, 2016, ASBM held an educational forum at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (USciences). The program drew 50 attendees comprised of pharmacists, faculty members, pharmacy students. The program began with an introduction to biosimilars from USciences Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences Dr. Zhiyu Li. Dr. Li is Director of Undergraduate Pharmacology/Toxicology Program, where he […]
September 15, 2016
A Picture is worth a thousand words… Why Memorable Names are preferred by Pharmacists by Philip Schneider, MS FASHP Associate Dean, University of Arizona College of Pharmacy ASBM Advisory Board Chair Yesterday, I was in Philadelphia with a group of about 50 pharmacy students and faculty speaking about biosimilars and the role they do play and […]
July 25, 2016
On Friday, July 22nd, The Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines and MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society co-hosted a forum entitled “Biosimilars: New Choices, New Challenges”. The event was attended by more than 45 physicians, legislators, patient advocates, healthcare workers, and others. MedChi’s CEO, Gene Ransom III began the forum with a discussion of the importance of biosimilars […]
July 8, 2016
In this video, patient advocate Kathleen Arntsen, President and CEO of the Lupus and Allied Diseases Association (LADA) and an autoimmune patient herself, discusses the power of advocacy and her concerns with Non-Medical Switching (NMS). NMS is the switching of a patient from one treatment to another, typically by a third party such as a Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) […]
