Drug switch study bolsters case for using copies of biotech medicine

London

NEW clinical data has bolstered the case for using cheaper copies of expensive biotech drugs by showing that patients with rheumatic diseases can be safely and effectively switched from original-brand medicine to a lower-cost version.

While the first copies of a blockbuster antibody drug for rheumatoid arthritis are now on sale in Europe, such so-called biosimilars have so far been used mainly in new patients, given doubts about how existing patients might react to a switch.