Regulatory evaluation of biosimilars throughout their product life-cycle

The World Health Assembly in 2014 adopted a resolution that recognized the importance of increasing access to biotherapeutic products, of improving their affordability and of ensuring their quality, safety and efficacy. Biosimilars are biotherapeutic products similar to already licensed reference pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2018-04, Vol.96 (4), p.281-285
Main Authors: Kang, Hye-Na, Knezevic, Ivana
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Access
Affordability
Biological products
Biological Products - therapeutic use
Biosimilar Pharmaceuticals - therapeutic use
Chronic illnesses
Collaboration
Constraints
Drug and Narcotic Control
Drugs
Effectiveness
Efficacy
Health care
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Interest groups
Licensure
Life cycles
Manufacturing
Markets
Medical treatment
Oversight
Patients
Pharmacovigilance
Policy & Practice
Process controls
Product safety
Public health
Quality
Quality assessment
Quality standards
Regulatory agencies
Safety
Standardization
Trust
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Summary:The World Health Assembly in 2014 adopted a resolution that recognized the importance of increasing access to biotherapeutic products, of improving their affordability and of ensuring their quality, safety and efficacy. Biosimilars are biotherapeutic products similar to already licensed reference products and are usually developed after patents on the original products have expired. Their introduction into the market is likely to reduce the costs of medicines substantially, thereby improving the availability of treatment for patients. However, there are barriers to market access for biosimilars. This article discusses the factors that give rise to these barriers and explains the importance of regulatory oversight throughout the product life-cycle of biosimilars. The paper also describes the role regulators can play in increasing confidence in biosimilars use by: (i) establishing regulatory oversight of biosimilars throughout their life-cycle, from development to post-licensing oversight, and ensuring that only high-quality, safe and efficacious biosimilars are available on the market; (ii) ensuring regulatory authorities have adequate capacity to assess and monitor the quality, safety and efficacy of biosimilars throughout their life-cycle; and (iii) monitoring the use of biosimilars in public health systems in collaboration with other stakeholders.
ISSN:0042-9686
1564-0604
DOI:10.2471/BLT.17.206284