Medical Affairs Managers Dr Federico Lipszyc from Amgen and Nicolás Costa from Sandoz explained that the successful introduction of biosimilars in Argentina implies a multidisciplinary effort by laboratories, funders, physicians, auditors and patient associations to offer patients peace of mind and confidence, and that it is essential to educate healthcare professionals about biosimilars, effectively communicate its efficacy and safety, and emphasize the solid scientific evidence that supports biosimilars.

In this regard, GABiC states the need for a multi-sectoral consensus on the concept of sustainability. As studies and publications on the European experience suggest, a sustainable market means that more patients benefit from convenient, timely and reliable access to quality biological therapies.

Competition in biosimilars leads to a long-term predictable cost scheme, without compromising quality and generating savings that can be reinvested in more and better innovative therapies for patients, so not promoting competition in the biosimilars market may impoverish development, eventually leading to higher costs for healthcare systems and patients.

Natalia Jorgensen, Director of the Centre for Health Technology Assessment at ISALUD University (CETSA-ISALUD) and consultant on prioritisation of health interventions at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), added that it is difficult to be sustainable if a single instrument is implemented in isolation, so the aim is to have a much more comprehensive drug policy.

Hence, GABiC's objective is to work on multiple fronts, obviously with doctors, who are the ones who will ultimately prescribe these types of molecules, but also involving patients and, undoubtedly, funders.

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