November 14, 2015
Governor Chris Christie has signed Assembly Bill 2477 (A2477), which had passed the New Jersey House and Senate unanimously, in May and June respectively. ASBM’s letters of support for A2477 may be read here and here. The Governor’s signature of A2477 brings the total to eighteen states and Puerto Rico which have passed such bills, with 12 […]
October 29, 2015
On October 27th, 2015, ASBM submitted comments on the FDA’s “Guidance for Industry Nonproprietary Naming of Biological Products”, released August 28th. The Draft Guidance called for distinguishable names for all biologic medicines, including biosimilars. This would be accomplished by use of a four-letter differentiating suffix composed of random letters. In the comments, ASBM commended the FDA for […]
October 16, 2015
Survey: Most Physicians Consider WHO Plan for Distinct Biologic, Biosimilar Names Helpful RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines (ASBM) today shared the results of a survey examining the perspectives of 399 physicians distributed equally across four countries: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico. It was conducted in May 2015 and was […]
October 14, 2015
For Immediate Release: October 13, 2015 WASHINGTON, DC – The Alliance for Safe Biologic Medicines (ASBM) today released the results of a survey of 401 U.S. pharmacists showing strong support for distinguishable names for biologics and biosimilars and the need for more transparency in labeling. “This survey reinforces what ASBM has been hearing from pharmacists […]
October 6, 2015
On October 6, California Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown signed into law SB 671, which permits pharmacists to substitute an interchangeable biosimilar in place of its reference product, provided the pharmacist communicates the substitution to the physician within five days time so that an accurate patient record is maintained, and the physician has not indicated “do not […]
October 2, 2015
At the New York State Rheumatology Society 2015 Fall Meeting, held October 2nd in Saratoga, NY, ASBM presented a briefing entitled “Biosimilars: Regulatory Challenges and Physician Perspectives”. which discussed the current state of U.S. and international biosimilar regulation, including the topics of biosimilar naming, labeling, and substitution. ASBM shared survey data from physicans in eleven countries on these issues. Mr. […]
August 1, 2015
On July 31, in Bend, Oregon, ASBM conducted a continuing education (CE) course for physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and other healthcare providers at six hospitals in the St. Charles Health System. Headquartered in Bend, Oregon, the system owns and operates St. Charles Madras, St. Charles Redmond, Pioneer Memorial Hospital, Blue Mountain Hospital, Lake District Hospital, and Harney […]
July 6, 2015
On May 26, 2015 Australian Health Minister Sussan Ley announced that Australia would become the first nation in the world to allow so-called “automatic” substitution of biosimilars by pharmacists in place of the biologic prescribed by a physician. This move came at the recommendation of Australia’s Pharmacy Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). In response to this development, ASBM and several […]
June 6, 2015
ASBM Survey Shows Latin American Physicians Support Distinguishable Names As the annual meeting of the Drug Information Association (DIA) June 15-18 in Washington DC, John Lewis of ASBM Steering Committee member the Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO) presented data from ASBM’s physician surveys. The surveys, of specialists in 11 countries from practice areas in which […]
June 2, 2015
On May 29, 2015, in partnership with the Chapman University School of Pharmacy, ASBM held a Continuing Education course for roughly 40 pharmacists entitled “BIOSIMILARS: WHAT EVERY PHARMACIST SHOULD KNOW” at Chapman’s campus in Irvine, CA. Following a brief baseline quiz to determine the participants’ understanding of biologics and biosimilars, four presentations were given by […]
