New reports on utilisation of biologics and biosimilars for chronic inflammatory diseases

The Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health has released a report titled "Utilisation of Innovator Biologics and Biosimilars for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases in Canada: A Provincial Perspective". The report is from a collaboration with researchers at the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN), which also released a similar report "Current and Prospective Utilisation of Innovator Biologics and Biosimilars in Ontario". The reports examine utilisation trends of innovator biologics and biosimilar versions of infliximab and etanercept, as well as the innovator biologic adalimumab, with regard to rheumatic conditions and inflammatory bowel disease in Ontario. The takeaway messages from the ODPRN report were that:

• biosimilar users accounted for a small proportion of overall biologic users, even among biologics with a currently available biosimilar;
• the data suggests that traditional formulary-based policies may not have a significant impact on biosimilar uptake; and
• the effect of policies on the update of biosimilars may differ by patient indication.