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ABPI issues updated position paper on biosimilars Posted 02/06/2014

On 14 May 2014, the association that represents innovative research-based biopharmaceutical companies in the UK, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI), issued the third edition of its position paper on biosimilars.
The ABPI position paper makes seven recommendations, covering areas where the association believes action is needed by regulators, health technology assessment (HTA) agencies, NHS (national health service) commissioners and NHS healthcare professionals who prescribe or dispense biosimilars. The recommendations highlight the importance of robust patient safety monitoring; to enable compliance with European Union (EU) pharmacovigilance legislation and clear guidance and information to educate prescribers and patients; to ensure they are aware of the important differences between biological medicines and chemically developed (small molecule) medicines. In its position paper, the ABPI points out that guidance issued in October 2005 by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) makes it clear that due to the complexity of biological/biotechnology-derived medicines, biosimilars cannot be regarded as generics and therefore, the approach used to deal with generics is not scientifically appropriate for biosimilars. The ABPI also highlights the fact that EU pharmacovigilance legislation mandates that all new medicinal products (small molecule and biological medicines including biosimilars) approved after 1 January 2011 are subject to closer monitoring for safety, also called additional monitoring. It should be noted, however, that the legislation also states that ‘there is no evidence to suggest that biosimilars may need more rigorous pharmacovigilance than originator biologicals [1]. The seven recommendations made by the ABPI in its updated position paper cover the following points: The ABPI concludes that there needs to be an appropriate scientific assessment of the totality of evidence for biosimilars (analytical, non-clinical and clinical), plus scientific justification to determine the acceptability of extrapolation. This will be depend on the type of product, related nature of the indications, mechanism of action and overall weight of evidence presented by the applicant. Editor’s comment If you would like to receive a copy* of the ABPI’s updated position paper on biosimilars, please send us an email. *For profit organizations subjected to a fee Related articles American dermatologists update position statement on biosimilar substitution Naming and interchangeability of biosimilars raised in new survey US supreme court ruling means biosimilars pathway safe Reference 1. GaBI Online - Generics and Biosimilars Initiative. EMA finalises pharmacovigilance guidance [www.gabionline.net]. Mol, Belgium: Pro Pharma Communications International; [cited 2014 Jun 2] Available from: www.gabionline.net/Guidelines/EMA-finalises-pharmacovigilance-guidance Permission granted to reproduce for personal and non-commercial use only. All other reproduction, copy or reprinting of all or part of any ‘Content’ found on this website is strictly prohibited without the prior consent of the publisher. Contact the publisher to obtain permission before redistributing. Copyright – Unless otherwise stated all contents of this website are © 2014 Pro Pharma Communications International. All Rights Reserved.
Source: ABPI
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