The forum was developed by 11 brand-name and generics companies all involved in developing biosimilars as ‘the first nonprofit organization solely dedicated to expanding patient access to biosimilars in the United States’.

The companies behind the launch represent the majority of companies with the most significant US biosimilars development portfolios and include Actavis, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Coherus BioSciences, EMD Serono, Hospira, Merck, Pfizer, Samsung, Sandoz, and Teva.

The Biosimilars Forum intends to ‘provide evidence-based information to educate and advocate for public policies and practices that encourage access, awareness and adoption of biosimilars’.

The forum points to the significant benefits of biosimilars, which have been used in the European Union since 2006. They also highlight an analysis conducted by the Congressional Budget Office, which estimated that the introduction of biosimilars would reduce drug spending by roughly US$25 billion over 10 years, saving the federal government nearly US$6 billion.

The forum will submit a public statement on 7 May 2015 to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System to address the need for appropriate coding for biosimilars.

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