On December 6th, Chairman Richard Dolinar, M.D., and Executive Director Michael Reilly toured a biologic manufacturing facility in Longmont, CO. Several ASBM members also participated on the tour which was arranged to help attendees better understand the complexities of manufacturing biologics.
After touring the facility, the group attended a forum hosted by Colorado BioScience, BIO and ASBM. The forum consisted of a panel discussion that included Dolinar, Andrew Spiegel, CEO of the Colon Cancer Alliance, Philip Schneider, Associate Dean of the College of Pharmacy Administration at the University of Arizona and Fritz Bittenbender, Vice President of Alliance Development and State Government Affairs at BIO. The event was attended by policymakers, patient advocates, physicians, pharmacists and other stakeholders who gathered to discuss the need for stringent standards when manufacturing attempted copies of biologics known as biosimilars. Also discussed was recently introduced Colorado legislation that is intended to ensure that automatic substitution of biosimilars only be allowed when the FDA designates an approved biosimilar as interchangeable.
View Dr. Dolinar’s Presentation.
Read the ASBM press release.